Hyperdimension Neptunia: Eternal Prototype
by CFW Gamereaper
Summary: Set after the events of MK2, this new adventure features a new crisis of Gamindustry, along with a new hero that fights alongside Nepgear.
1. Planetside

Hello everyone and welcome. For those of you that are just first reading this, welcome to my first fanfiction! For those of you returning to...perhaps go through the series again for sheer delight (I wish), I've made a few changes. By a few, I mean I added a couple bits of new content throughout the story. No worries though, nothing changed the primary plot of it, I just added a few tidbits and cleaned up a LOT of grammar issues. So, without further screwing around, enjoy the read!

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><p>Some time ago, someone important asked me what I thought of the world we were in, and what I thought of the sins we saw every day. She asked me, "What do you think? Do you think that people should give themselves up to protect a world that doesn't care?"<p>

And I told her firmly, "People shouldn't have to sacrifice themselves for a so-called 'greater good'. A world shouldn't have to fall apart because of a so-called 'all-powerful evil'. We, as people of this world, have much more power over 'fate' than we realize. It is our choice to act upon it."

"I take it we haven't acted upon it then? Is that why we are the way we are today?" she asked.

"No, we haven't acted upon it. But I believe that everyone deserves a second chance. No matter how bad things look, people can overcome even the worst of nightmares. It's all up to them though. It's up to them to act upon this nightmare."

She pondered aloud with a sullen voice, "I wonder how we can get them to help us out of the nightmare."

I wanted to tell her, "You can't get them to do anything."

I wanted to tell her, "It's up to them, not you."

But I kept myself quiet, smiling complacently. That girl, adorned in her modest clothing, wearing that aloof gaze buried under her long hair, she meant the world to me. She wasn't just a leader, she was a caretaker, a person to seek refuge from. But that was the blanket that covered up the sparse confidence that resided deep inside her. She was weighted not just by guilt, but by the pressure of keeping aloft a falling world. And nobody would ever guess how far the poor thing was falling.

She just needed a little help. And that...was where I stepped in...

{||o||\Y/||+||)

"You're up next noob, get going!" A distant shout caught my attention. I folded up my blade sharpener and crammed it in my personal locker, rusted and aged. With a mighty heave, I thrusted my battleaxe over my shoulder and prepared to kick some ass. I stepped down the hallway, lurched over slightly from the weight of my axe, watching the many contenders of the Coliseum run about. They filled out forms, worked on weapons, and a couple other things I dare not mention.

"Right through here, noob," A grisly-looking geek instructed me through the door leading out into the open grounds of the Coliseum. In the distance, I could see my opponent for the day, clad in just a fisherman's uniform, shoes, hat, and all. I couldn't see much of his weapon now, but I was sure he was eager to introduce it to my face. Walking out of the shadows cast by the grandstands, protected by wrought-iron fences that still had the blood of many drenched inside of them, I entered the bright spotlight, opposite of my foe. I had to watch my step, for the steel floor had a few conspicuous slots mounted in the corners that I was wary about nearing. Knowing the Coliseum and the crowds high demand for bloodshed, I was sure there was more than enough hidden in those slots to turn me into ground beef.

"Welcome all to Planeptune's Coliseum! Today we have an exciting match of two mighty foes, ready to grind each other up!" The loudspeaker boomed onto the field. The crowd flared just hearing them announce the beginning of the game.

"On the red side, we have Fisherman Davis and his favorite spear, the Leviathan Hunter!" The announcer shouted over the loudspeakers again. The fisherman at the red side, spotlight shining bright on him for all the crowd to see, posed and laughed hardily. His spear had quite a tip on it, but the rest of it looked oddly like a fishing pole, a plastic one at that. I wondered what kind of controller he had in it. If I didn't know any better, it looks like one of Lowee's products, the white on the body kinda giving it away.

"And on the blue side, we have Code Oprashunal and his battleaxe, Grindrix!"

I kept still while in the spotlight, thinking to myself, "Pride's for those who think they've already won."

"Ready? Fight!" The announcer echoed. Davis got in a fighting pose, knees bent and holding his spear with a cocky expression plastered on his face. I walked around casually, slouched over slightly from the weight of my axe. I kept my hand wrapped around the grip, holding on and preparing myself. I was going to let him come to me, I wasn't gonna risk becoming part of a shish-kebab on his spear.

"Whaddya waitin' for? Got the smell of fish stuck in yer nose?" The man trash-talked, slowly nearing me as he circled the arena with me. I watched his spear closely, eyes focused on his movements. I braced myself as he charged forward, daring to make the first move. He ran with the spear aimed right for my heart. I waited and waited, time slowed down just for me, bracing myself silently without so much as a movement. I could see it, his spear almost touching my clothes, and with this sight, I shoved myself out of the way.

Arms prepped and ready, I swung my hardest at him, leaving a grim wound on his hip. Blood poured like water and already he was losing grip on his spear he had caught in the chain-link fence. Under his breath he muttered curses, knowing his fate to be sealed now. I drew my blade up high, the axe refracting all kinds of lights above, then brought it down on his shoulder. He stopped moving for a moment, shocked and stunned at how quickly the match had just ended, then dropped down with his emptied eyes facing the lights above.

"I can't...believe I was beaten by...by a noob like you..." He moaned, feeling a pain like no other as he bled out.

"Looks like someone skipped the tutorials," I shot back, walking towards the center to be congratulated on my victory and such. The fisherman's body slowly vanished, along with his spear in the wall, then appeared once more at the red side. He gave me a smirk as he sheathed his fishing spear on his back. The dorky looking man that led me into the arena came out from the red side door, dressed in referree's clothes. Him and Davis walked over to me, standing in the main spotlight.

"I'll get ya next time, kid," Davis raised an open hand to me. I shook his hand with the only hand I had that wasn't holding up my massive battleaxe.

"Next time, you'd better read up," I jested firmly. The referee congratulated me, then escorted me out of the arena. I gripped my ten thousand credits then stored them in my hoodie pocket.

I walked towards the locker room, watching the other contenders walk about after their own matches. Heading to my locker, I noticed that Davis and one other contender were talking amongst themselves not far from my locker.

"Be thankful the respawner didn't spawn you without your clothes!" The man conversed with Davis.

"I just can't believe I lost so fast, I really thought I had him. I bet he had one of those damn god-mode controllers, I haven't ever seen an axe like his before. How much you wanna bet it's modded?" Davis continued being a sore loser in easy ear-shot, not noticing me being in the locker room as well.

"It's not modded, you just suck," I mumbled under my breath while I retrieved my blade sharpener and towel. I wiped off the days blood, rejuvenating the blade and restoring it's sparkling sheen. I folded out the silver blade sharpener and began grinding the blade to perfection. The noise blocked out Davis's conversation, but I didn't care to listen in anyways. I just kept my Titan gaming headset plastered over my ears, isolating all sound with my favorite video game soundtracks.

An hour passed of perfecting my blade and I stowed away the sharpener again, ready for tomorrow's match. I honestly wondered why I was still in that business, all the opponants all had the same attitude and no sportsmanship. Gamindusty had really gone down the hole, it's hit a sort of low that not even the CPU can properly fix. Everyone's morals have hit the worst bottom of all. I remembered back when the arena used to be a place where a good sport and a good sport could fight each other just for fun, regardless of rank or kill streak, and after every match both contenders would say "good game" to each other. Those days were gone though, nothing but a memory. Still thinking to myself, I walked solemnly back to my home to rest up and get ready for the next day.

The sun was shining bright that day, the silvery, futuristic buildings glistening with a steel melancholy. I took my favorite shortcut home, through a shadowy alleyway that kept me out of the way of any reckless drivers zooming down the streets. The alleys were just as damp and musty as ever, no signs of rust but a certain thickness in the air that always made it hard to breathe. My headset on, hands buried in my pocket and fingering the credits I had stored in them, I walked along the winding pathway, steel skyscrapers looming over me. Taking a sharp corner, I came face-to-face with a girl that was speeding down these alleys a little too fast. She knocked me on my feet, my axe hitting the ground with a massive thud that echoed in the alley. I held myself up with my hands and saw a familiar face trying to get back up as well.

"I..I'm so sorry!" She apologized, her voice blessed with innocence.

"Careful ki...wait, aren't you Nepgear? CPU?" I asked, recognizing her purple shield of hair and calm voice anywhere.

"Uh..uh yeah...sorry, I gotta go!" She fled, leaping over me and dashing off down the alleyways again. What she was in such a hurry for, I knew not, but it'd be unbecoming of me to question the CPU. I grabbed Grindrix from the dusty concrete floor and walked on, Grindrix resting happily on my shoulders. This massive weapon killed my back, but she was my pride and joy, the only thing I had left to remember my favorite game series that recently passed away. They stopped making the axes once the game series was cancelled and I was lucky enough to have one of the last few remaining. Rounding another corner, the blinding sun greeted me as I departed the damp dark of the alleys. Cars of futuristic design zoomed past without a sound made and people walked up and down the streets, occasionally glancing at the giant battleaxe that rested on my shoulder. I didn't care what they thought, all I cared about was getting on with my life like usual, unfiltered and undisguised. My home awaited with it's simple two floors of steel design. I didn't need much at all to please me, I had my HDTV with my custom console hooked up to it and I had a bed to sleep in. I stuck my cold hand on the even colder hand scanner that kept my door locked. A buzz and whir later, it opened the door wide to my favorite living room. Casually, I plopped on the couch and turned on the TV to the news, ready to see what went on today before I played some games on my custom console.

"Today marks the release of the eighteenth installment of Final Sci-Fi! Gamers rejoice in the re-updated graphics and new storyline!" The gaming channel chimed as it showed a gameplay trailer.

"What's new? Honestly, it's the same damn thing over and over again, same gameplay, same overused plots, nothing new," I sighed to myself, realizing that talking to myself was futile. Despite that, I continued talking to myself, "Like anybody would listen anyways, people are so blind these days. If they aren't crappy in sportsmanship, they're crappy in taste of games, only playing what media tells them too. Creativity has been lost to time, just like the CPU's power and influence over the lands."

"Now onto geographicals with Angelique!" the newscaster motioned for the cameras to switch to a different set. On the other set was a short girl with green hair. For a girl that was also cannon fodder for the corperate gaming media, she was pretty cute.

"Thank you Frank, today we take a look at Leanbox, which has had another shift across Gamindustry. Seems anymore like all the lands are on completely different corners of the earth. Lastation isn't even visible at Planeptune anymore and Lowee is at the very top of Gamindustry," The lady on the TV prattled on. I couldn't care less about geographical stuff, ever since faith was lost in the CPUs, now every land is slowly floating away from each other. None of the CPUs wanted to work together either, I remembered when I was a lot younger, Nepgear, Uni, Ram, and Rom all worked together to save this place, now they're just helping rip it apart at the seams. It's horrible to see what happened to a once beautiful world of gaming. But what could I ever do about it? Nothing but keep fighting on.

"Now onto sports."

And as soon as I heard 'sports' I switched off to my console. If there was one thing I hated more than pointless sequels, it was sports. People make way too many games off such a pointless thing. I turned on my console, the Omnivox as I've dubbed it, and it hummed silently while it read and played one of my older games, Dead Ground.

"0 people online playing this game." A message read on my dashboard. It was just like all my other games, nobody ever played them anymore, online or off. I laid Grindrix on her perch mounted just above my TV. The bolts holding her up started to rattle, reminding me not to rely on support mounts above the TV. Letting out a sigh, I went back to my bookshelf stashed away under the TV. I had recently picked up a popular book from a writer that went by the name of Valve. Her book was focused on a lot of theories, some of which she picked up while adventuring. I saw them as just dreams, but interesting dreams nonetheless.

{||o||\Y/||+||)

Dawn broke and morning lights elegantly flashed over the couch I slept on. I held my arm above my eyes while they readjusted to the brightness. I brushed the crusts off the edges of my eyes and got ready for the day's match. I walked to my nearby mini-fridge hidden in the corner of my living room, opening the lock on it and prying it open. My mind drooped at the sight of only one Creature Energy drink to wake me up, but it'd have to do. I popped the cap off and chugged silently while I stepped upstairs to my bedroom. Light flooded that room as well, but helped me see which jacket I was going to wear. Hands picking and looking, I chose a black and red jacket with the title "Axe Hero" plastered across the deep pockets. I slid down the rail leading downstairs and retrieved Grindrix from her perch before I head back to the Coliseum.

My door closed behind me with a mechanical thud, sun blinding me as I stepped out to the sidewalk and across the empty streets. Not many were walking about and even fewer were driving, tempting me to walk along the streets to the arena, but far be it for me to break a habit. I took my usual route through the desolate alleys, chilled from shadows cast on their concrete path. I wondered what all happened there at later hours, what mischief and misdeed happened in the shrouded corners. I never needed to walk about at night, but sometimes I would think about just roaming around at the later hours. The city looked entrancing at night, different spectrums of color decorating the shops and stores and services scattered about the town. But as the lights appeared so did the delinquents that roamed about, attempting to rob many of their belongings and even their lives.

Lawlessness had really taken shape ever since the CPUs lost their faith. Well, at least in Planeptune. Nepgear may have been nice, but she seemed to have problems with taking action, especially after the previous CPUs sealed away Arfoire. I wondered what happened yesterday when she slammed into me. The alleys were just a little dark for someone as important as her. I stepped out into the sun again, shadows losing their grip on me and sunlight gleaming off my axe.

I stepped inside the Coliseum with greetings from occasional contenders who knew me. I didn't have much to say, but I could muster a greeting to anyone with a greeting to give to me. The dorky referree stood at the red door again, watching me with a silent gaze as if he was waiting for me to make a shifty move with my axe. Normally I'd cut him down to size if he even so much as threatened to hit me, but I had a thing about self-defense that I'd rather not ruin over some scrawny nerd.

Davis wasn't in the locker rooms. I wasn't complaining, but I was wary of the newest arrival to the Coliseum and my opponant for the day. She was a CQC fighter with a pair of spiked knuckles that were in the shape of controllers. I let down my headphones, drooping off my neck while I opened up my locker to retrieve my axe sharpener.

"Uh...he-he-hello," She said quietly to me while I unfolded my sharpener.

"Sup," I gave my subtle response, waiting for her to start trash talking. A few moments passed of her staring at my axe while I sharpened it. I looked over to her, wearing a discouraged expression as well as she wore her spiked knuckles.

I stopped sharpening for a moment, asking, "What?"

"That's a...b-big axe," She commented, her voice shakey.

"Yeah, sure as hell is," I replied, sharpening the blade again. I had the feeling that she hoped that I wouldn't be her competition. I kinda hoped that she wasn't my opponant either. All those rips in her jeans were exposing her panties and I knew that I'd probably get distracted by that. She walked cautiously around me and exited without a word.

"Seems like my reputation's starting to catch up," I mumbled to myself while I finished the final touches on my blade. Stepping out, I wondered why they felt the need to switch doors on me every damn day. It was becoming a little more than annoying.

"Ready for the fight, noob?" The dorky referree asked, emphasizing that damned 'noob' word every time he said it. I kept quiet, waiting for the match to start. A few minutes passed and finally it marked the time to enter and fight again. The crowd cheered fanatically, chanting names all around, begging for some bloodshed. I stepped into the red side's spotlight, shining bright on me, opposite of my opponant.

Over in the corner was that exact same girl from the lockers. She kept her arms up in a defensive position. I wasn't getting why she was preparing herself so much, but then again, she seemed scared in the locker rooms.

"Today, we have for you another epic match here in the Coliseum!" The announcer started, silencing the audience for a moment, "We have on the red side, arena underdog, Code Oprashunal with his battleaxe, Grindrix!" The crowd cheered for a moment and silenced again.

"And on the blue side we have Tekken and her spiked knuckles!" the loudspeaker announced. The crowd cheered again.

"Ready? Fight!" The announcer began the slaughter. I had faith that this would be easy, her attacks were very limited with those knuckles. I had little time this time to brace myself, she had rushed at me with a fighting stance. I got a good grip on my axe and waited for her first punch. It neared my face, but I dodged quick out of the way. That left her shocked for a split-second, but she shot another fist that shredded into my shoulder. I gritted my teeth as I watched her swing her second fist at me while I was recovering. I dropped to the floor and rammed my foot into her chest, making her wretch over. I stood back up, raising my axe high and thrusting down. Her knuckles withstood the blow, but also shattering one of her wrists. The crowd cheered furiously, enjoying the tense match. I wasn't as enthralled though, she wasn't half bad as compared to my last opponant.

Tekken gave a bit of a grunting sound and thrust her spikes at me again. I turned my axe to the side and she slammed her spikes perfectly into the decorative holes on my axe. Bewildered, the headstrong fighter swung her other fist only to miss. I shoved her down to the ground, breaking her arm in the process. With a few tears in her eyes, she gave a firm punch to the back of my leg and I dropped to the floor. I could see a pain in her eyes that bugged me. I hated fighting girls.

"Let's at least make this quick," I said to myself as I lobbed her head off with my axe. I slung my axe over my shoulder, the only one that didn't have bloody holes in it, when I noticed a peculiar site. I recognized a certain shield of purple hair in the background, eyeing me with interest and astonishment. I wondered what Nepgear would be doing at the Coliseum watching something as underground as a Colosseum tournament. Peering my eyes from that I noticed the referree approaching and leading me to the middle of the arena.

Tekken had already left the arena, probably sad because she lost. The ref handed me my ten thousand and I exited to wash my axe. I wasn't even gonna bother sharpening it, I could do that tomorrow. I had my mind on other things, sadly that girl being one of them. I knew better than to think it, but in my mind I kept wondering if she was alright.

"I really really hate fighting girls. Maybe I'm already growing soft," I thought to myself, passing through the blue light that marked the exit to the arena. My wounds regenerated at lightning speed, just as they should. All the crazy technology they had anymore bewildered me but as long as it kept me alive, I could care less.

The walk to my locker was surprisingly empty and quiet, nobody else wandering around, not even the dorky ref that pestered me constantly. Entering the locker rooms, I met up again with Tekken. She wore a look of disappointment, but that quickly became a look of fear once I entered the room.

Opening my locker, I said to her, "Good game out there."

"Th-thanks," she said quietly.

"First time I've fought a CQC kind of person. You're pretty good," I complimented her, hoping maybe I'd hear something other than trash-talk for once. She didn't seem like the cocky sort that usually lingered in the Coliseum.

"N-n," She paused, "Not as good as you though."

I got out my rag from inside my locker. It was coated with a special blend of Slime Gel and Deathweed that helped clean off bloodstains. I just had to be careful not to cut the fabric on the blade. Washing off Grindrix, I said with a slight smirk, "You just got an unlucky competitor choice. Hope I wasn't too hard on ya."

"No, no. I kinda liked that fight actually. We should fight again s-sometime," said Tekken, a slight blush appearing on her slightly-tan face.

Finishing up washing off Grindrix, I put the rag away in my locker and shut it tight, saving my blade sharpener for tomorrow. "Sounds good," I finished, passing her a few thousand credits from my earnings. She wore a shocked look and had a little more blush on her face. "You fought pretty damn well out there. Consider it a consolation prize," I told her earnestly.

"Wh-why are you-"

"Let's just say I don't believe in winners or losers," I interrupted her, walking off with my battleaxe slung over my shoulder. She didn't have anything else to say. Exiting the arena, I said to myself, "I am getting soft. Damn."

The blinding sunlight made me rear back a little. It was midday and still there was hardly a soul out and about, which worried me that I had missed a monster warning or something.

Almost on cue, I saw in the distance, a gaggle of monsters working their way down the street. "Of course I'd miss another freakin' monster alert. And I'd just cleaned my blade too," I thought to myself, tightening my grip around Grindrix.

I rushed across the street and into my alleyway shortcut, hoping to avoid detection. Luckily, there was not a single red exclamation point above their head, so I assumed my escape a success. I walked along with an awaited sigh and innocent gait until I found the same certain somebody from before, up to her neck in monsters ready to slay her. I've witnessed her power long ago so I guessed that she'd take care of these monsters just fine. But as I turned my head towards my proper path, I noticed that I had now been blockaded by the foul wolves that sought nothing but destruction.

"Fenrir pups, just what I need on the way home," I sighed under my breath, backing up into the alleyway leading to Nepgear. If I could funnel their numbers to just one at a time, I figured that I could get out without any major casualties. They did just as I planned, one at a time dashing into the narrow alley. I gripped my axe and readied myself for the first Fenrir's attack. He leapt at me with claw extended, drool hanging from his rugged teeth and dots of black clouding his blue fur. I dashed forward a little and gave a mighty uppercut that severed him in half, but my fight was far from over. Another wolf leapt off the back of another and performed the same leap the last one just did, but with another wolf charging at me as well, baring his ferocious teeth.

I thought fast and speared the top Fenrir's mouth with the spike on the end of my axe's top. The Fenrir rammed his eye square into the spear and while he was attached, I slammed his body into the lower Fenrir, downing him but not crushing him. Problems arose, for my blade had now been jammed in the Fenrir's skull. The final Fenrir, undamaged and unscathed, leaped over the bodies of his fallen brothers and leapt at me. I dropped my axe and slammed my back into the concrete, holding my feet up and tossing him clear over me. I tugged hard at my axe and forcefully dislodged it. The bottom Fenrir still struggled to escape, clawing constantly at the floor. I took a quick swipe at him and finished him off, body disappearing into thin air, along with his brother that still rested atop him. I looked behind me to a grisly sight of the final Fenrir surprise attacking Nepgear. It clawed furiously at her back and shredded her clothes and skin.

"Get the hell off her you grimy little ass!" I screamed, heaving my axe high and dropping it's full weight on the foul creature. Severed in half, it dissappeared, marking the end of our ambush. Nepgear was breathing still, but injured badly. I did the only thing I could think of and retreat quickly back to my home where the impenitrable walls of adamant would guard against any attack. Carrying Nepgear was taxing but the trip home was short and once I was inside, I rushed to my medical cabinet and poured a solvent on her wounded back. The blood and wounds disappeared, luckily, but I didn't think she'd going to be too happy about her shredded clothes. "Has the drop in faith really weakened her this much?" I asked myself while I dressed her wounds. I only had a light bandage that I kept over her wound until the solvent took a full effect.

I carried her up to my bed and let her sleep, returning downstairs patiently. The news reported many casualties caused by the monsters. The rise in activity and power of the monsters is said to be 'unknown' but I assumed that they only said that just because people don't want to admit that Gamindustry has fallen into a hole it should never have been put in. There isn't gaming anymore, there isn't joy in gaming, there isn't a bit of creativity, it's all competition and melancholy. It's like the whole industry has fallen from a civilization into a barbaric tribe. We couldn't keep living like this, with little faith to hold up the CPUs and keep their civilization strong.

"Gamindustries ruined, ruined so badly that I don't think all the effort in the world could pull them out of this..."


	2. Wake Up, Miss Nepgear

It was late into the night, sun gone and moon high above the lighted city. Tinkering in my workshop, I worked furiously on a mod for my axe. So many wires, steel gears, and bolts to apply, but not in vain. Should I succeed, I shall have given birth to a new breed of weapon. Though at the reward of increased firepower, the thing was gonna weigh twice as much. Still, something ate at my mind. I worried about Nepgear. I'd never seen such a powerful person brought down so far. I still remembered when I first went to the Basilicom. I only went once but it was what I saw that discouraged me from coming back...

I knocked on the door and stood a while in the cold. It was mid-winter and it surely didn't feel good to just stand around. However, I needed to talk with that Histoire girl so I could pay renewal on my Colosseum license. It wasn't too much, so I didn't mind.

The door opened up, a gust of air that smelled of fresh linen and ocean breeze leaking out of the grand entryway. I was greeted by an odd girl that was about five foot four and had very long grey hair. She wore a white blouse that had a tie in front of it, a blue skirt, and a blue jacket that seemed to have these odd steel pauldrons. The ribbon in her hair was also weird. It made a strange kind of hologram. "How may I help you today sir?" she asked with a cheery voice.

"I need to speak with Histoire," I quickly said.

"Please come in. I'll bring you to the waiting room and let her know you're here. May I get your name sir?" She asked, stepping aside to let me in.

As I shook the snow from my feet and used the floormat to clean my shoes of moisture, I told her, "I'm Code Oprashunal."

She kept up this chipper smile that put me at ease. However, something felt odd about her. There wasn't an aura around her and she didn't seem to give off any heat either, despite her walking so close to me. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Key."

Using something attached to her ear, she sent a message via holographic display, likely to Histoire. At the waiting room, she took a seat right next to me, which made me a tad uncomfortable. I wasn't about to say anything about it though.

"I assume you work here?" I asked as politely as I could.

"I was programmed as a guide to the Planeptune Basilicom. Originally I worked at a planatarium, but when that place went out of business, I was reprogrammed to work here. I'm actually a gynoid, by the way," said Key very quickly. I could tell she liked to talk.

"I see," I gave my meager response. Luckily Histoire came out before Key could continue talking. I had the feeling that if she started again, I wouldn't get to leave til the next day. Not that I was anxious to go back outside and face the snowy winter. I hated winter.

Histoire held a hand up to her head and said, "She just will not get better. So worrisome."

Wearing a disheartened look, Key asked, "Shall I watch over her for you?"

"If you would, that'd be great," Histoire shoo'd her away and then turned to face me.

I already had my money out and said, "This is for my Coloseum license."

Quickly taking my money she looked it over. Holding it up to the light, she confirmed it was real money and said with a slight chuckle, "Glad someone has finally decided to give me real money."

"Are the others really going as far as to fake their way to competition?" I asked with a raised brow.

Histoire nodded before continuing. "It's doing nothing but bad for our CPU."

Hearing that hit my heart hard. I asked honestly, "Is there anything I can do for her?"

"Unless you can get a whole nation to quit fighting and pay attention to their goddess, I'm afraid not," said Histoire with a grim aura drifting around her.

"If it's any consolation, I would gladly do such a thing if I could. My best wishes to our beloved CPU," I said with a stern nod.

Anyone could see the shock in Histoire's eyes. Whether she was shocked at my politeness or my caring words I couldn't tell. "Thank you very much. Please, feel free to come again."

I nodded yet again and started for the door leading out. Just before I could exit, she called for my attention. Floating on her mysterious tome behind me, she said, "And please feel free to check up on Nepgear. She'll be happy to know that her citizens still care about her."

I gave her the best smile I could muster before going back out into the snow. Trodging along in the thick snow, waving goodbye to Histoire, I said to myself, "Things have gotten far worse than I'd have ever thought. I hate this, and I wish so much that I could get people to pay attention to that poor girl..."

Upstairs, distantly I heard the faint creak of my bed. I had a feeling that Nepgear had finally woken up. Taking my assumption to heart, I fled upstairs to see her wiping her eyes and yawning.

"Mornin, or rather, afternoon Miss Nepgear," I greeted, walking towards her and sitting at the edge of the bed.

"Wh..where am I?" She asked looking around frantically. She eyed all the collectibles and posters lining my room, still slowly figuring out where her head was.

"You're-"

"Who are you?" She interrupted, throwing my train of thought off.

"I'm-"

"Am I still-"

"Easy kid, one question at a time!" I cut her off, "My name is Code, you're at my house after getting injured during a monster fight."

She remained silent, looking at me like either her or I was crazy.

"Um, thank you for bringing me here," She whispered, a dusty echo caught in her voice.

"No problem. Now come on, let's get you something to drink," I stood back up, motioning for her to follow. She leapt out of bed, following me with an anxious silence. Truthfully, I had alot to say considering the awkwardness of not only having my first girl in the house, but that same girl being the damn CPU. Honestly, if I posted such a thing on my blog, people would immediately assume I was faking it. I opened the fridge to find an unfortunate emptyness lingering inside of it.

"Uh yeah, my soda's in the other fridge. I'll be right back, make yourself at home, sorry for the mess," I walked off while I talked, Nepgear taking my words and sitting on the fluffy couch in front of the TV. I walked into the kitchen, searching frantically for ingredients for at least a soda or something.

My cabinets were all stocked well, so I hoped that she'd settle for a simple Nep Bull. I only knew basic alchemy, or in my current case, cooking, but it was enough to suffice. I would have to deal with the stench of the foul-smelling herbs that lingered in the kitchen later, but it wasn't anything to worry about. In the warm living room, the TV was still on and audible from the not-so-distant kitchen, telling many stories of the day's casualties.

"You look distraught, somethin' on your mind?" I asked, passing her a finished and chilled Nep Bull.

She kept quiet for a minute then looked at me and said, "They don't even notice that I'm gone, nobody even cares."

I didn't say anything in response. I wasn't my place to provide input on something as important as what the CPU should and shouldn't do. Instead, I sat down on the couch next to her and let her take in the news of the day.

"If you want, I can escort you back to the Basilicom," I offered.

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd like that," She replied, standing up with me. I grabbed Grindrix off her mount and slung her over my shoulder as I left the house with Nepgear in tow. The lights of many buildings and streetlamps kept few shadows around, but I could still see the way to the Basilicom not far away. Walking along the grey, cracked sidewalks, I took in the strong scent of recently fallen rain, letting it relax me while my ever-observant eyes examined the dark environment.

"You feelin' okay?" I asked, looking to her as she walked next to me.

Wearing a still expression, she said quietly, "I'm fine."

"I can tell you aren't, don't hide it," I shot back, hoping not to offend her. She didn't say anything, but I didn't expect her to.

"I feel so helpless. I have to rely on my citizens to save me now," She sighed looking up to the starry sky, hidden by towering giants of steel.

"And do you think those without faith in you would offer to save you from a fight?" I started, grabbing her attention, "It isn't your fault Planeptune's lost faith, and those that still see the person you are have faith. I've plenty faith in you, if it makes any difference."

"It makes alot of difference," she attempted a fake smile that faded quickly, "But it still doesn't help me fix the problem at hand."

"Moping sure isn't gonna fix it," I brutally replied. We made a corner leading into an even brighter district of stores that stayed open late. It was the only path I knew wouldn't be crawling with criminals and scum of the lands.

Her eyes went from the starry sky to the deadened streets around. It pained her to see her fair city fallen to silence and despair. "There's not much else I can do, the shares are down, I can't even fight anymore, my friends have left me behind. I don't have anywhere else to turn."

"Then turn an eye to those with fight still left in their souls. I fight every day for the credits to feed my mouth, I fight every day past the melancholy of basic life. It's not the best life, but I'm not giving up just cause of that," I offered my words of wisdom, what few I had to give.

"You're very wise for a Colosseum fighter."

"That's cause I still believe in willpower, and I still believe in you. Gamindustry used to be a helluva place, but now it's fallen far and I'd give my life and soul to see it picked back up," I finished honestly.

In the depths of the gloomy girl's eyes I could see a little glimmer of hope shining. She hadn't given up all the way, not just yet. Our walk ended, the Basilicom lit up before us, the large doors watching over the both us at the doorstep.

"Well, here you are, catch ya later," I departed, walking back the other way.

"Wait!" She shouted, halting my descent down the flight of stairs. I looked over my shoulder to let her know my ears were listening.

"Would you like to come in for a while? It's the least I can do for you after you helped me so much," She offered, wearing a small smile. I couldn't turn her down, especially considering where she lived. I'd only been in the Basilicom once years ago. I'd been at the Guild a couple times but the pay for the Coliseum led me away from taking up missions at the Guild.

I shrugged and followed her inside, telling her, "I suppose I haven't a reason to say no."

It smelled of fresh ocean breeze and books inside of the steel walls covering the delicate and elegant rooms. Wall mounted lamps let off the most radiant light that illuminate the curved hallway that seemed to go on for a mile. Freshly cleaned furniture still sat in the same spots as I remembered from years ago, the red velvets and rich mahogany side tables hinting a graceful elegance.

"Ah, I see you've returned," A voice chimed from nearby, leading my vision to the side.

"Yes, I'm sorry I was out so long, I got into a bit of trouble," Nepgear replied to Histoire who floated patiently in front of us.

"All is well though I see. Who's your friend? He looks familiar," Histoire asked, probing me with innocent and auspicious looks.

"This is Code, he helped me after I got hurt fighting," Nepgear explained, presenting me to the well-received Oracle of Planeptune.

"Code? As in Code Oprashunal?" Histoire asked. I nodded silently, Histoire giving me a soft smile. "It's been far too long. I still remember that single day you dropped by to get your license renewed and you worried about Nepgear."

I shied a little and I could've sworn Nepgear blushed a little.

"Nepgear has told me much of your fights at the Coliseum," continued Histoire, "I wish she'd stop going there though, I knew she'd get hurt wandering around with all these strong monsters on the prowl."

"Please, it's an honor to have served someone as important as the CPU," I modestly replied with little emotion as usual. Histoire lead us into the depths of the Basilicom, educating me of some of the harsh effects the loss of faith has had on Nepgear and Planeptune.

It was just as I anticipated. With all the creativity and joy lost, there's no gaming, just competition and repetitive games that were ruining Gamindustry. Nepgear walked ahead of us towards a distant door and shocked Histoire to see the claw marks still present in Nepgear's garments.

"You should probably go change into another pair of clothes. I can show Code around while you change," Histoire said, voice aimed right at the spacey girl before her. I forgot all about the fact that her clothes were still torn to shreds. Nepgear rushed off in another direction to get changed while Histoire led me to the meeting room. I sat down at a nearby seat, cold steel chilling my warm body. Histoire just floated nearby, propelled by some mystic force. One could practically smell the history in the room, nearby bookshelves holding dictionaries and encyclopedias, reminding me of some kind of historical museum.

"I really can't thank you enough for helping her. I'm sorry if she caused you any inconveniences," Histoire apologized again.

"Really, it's no worry, I'm just glad to see that she's alright," I told her. "I only had one potion to offer to her, it's the only thing I had for medical emergencies."

"I can offer you medical supplies to keep at home if you wish," Histoire offered happily.

"Oh no, I couldn't. It's fine. Just let me know if she ever needs an escort or somthin'. I'll help out the CPU in any way I can." I wanted to make it clear that I offered my services as charity. I needn't a reward for something I felt obligated to do.

Histoire nodded and said, "I understand. If there's anything I can do for you, please feel free to say so," she said in a mix of worry and happiness, a blend unlike anything I've ever seen. It was strange, like she could keep a positive mindstate, but couldn't help but worry about something.

"Actually, there is something..." I was cut off by Nepgear rushing into the room with a different outfit on and a rushed expression. The smell of fresh linen radiated from her as she approached us, apologizing quietly.

"Relax, it's no problem," I replied. She sat down next to me, calm and somewhat happy.

Histoire looked back at me and asked, "You were saying, Code?"

Shaking my head and waving a hand of dismissal, I said, "Eh, forget about it, it's not important."

"Are you sure you don't want to ask her? She's covered wars you know, I'm sure she can help you with whatever it is you wanna know," Nepgear said with a cheery smile that shot down my plans to keep my questions in.

I looked back to Histoire, floating elegantly near us. Hesitantly, I told her, "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to know something if it's not too much trouble."

Histoire wore a smile and said, "Anything for a friend of Nepgear."

"I'd like to know what happened to my parents. I don't even remember them anymore, I've lived all these years without them, I'd just like to know what happened to them," I said nervously, waiting for her rapid response.

"I can do that, but it'll take three days," She replied, killing the moment a bit. I didn't mind though, a mystery solved would be one less thing I'd have to worry about. "Until then, you and Nepgear can get to know each other more." Histoire added. I nodded, knowing no harm could come of my rather fortunate chance of fate, meeting the CPU and even befriending her.

"I take it you'd like to follow me to the Coliseum tomorrow?" I asked, expecting to show her how the underground works.

Nepgear innocently played with her purple hair and asked, "Are you sure it'd be okay?"

"Yeah, that dorky ref ain't gonna say anything against it, and if he does I'll be more than happy to intruduce him to my axe," I boasted as I flashed my favorite axe, letting the light reflect from it's flawless steel.

"Oh, and if I might add, Code," Histoire grabbed me from my conversation, "If you wouldn't mind, some assistance cleaning up some monsters lingering around Planeptune would be a great help and would be much appreciated. The jobs are posted in the Guild if you're interested."

"I'll take a look at it and if I have the time, I'll see what I can do. I just worry for Miss Nepgear." I looked over to her, still remembering the vivid scene of that Fenrir shredding her back.

"I hope I wont be too much of a problem," Nepgear worried.

Even with her shares low, I had faith that she'd be okay fighting out on the field with me. Just in case, I warned her, "I'm sure it'll be fine, just keep your guard up, mkay?"

She nodded and we officially had our plans for tomorrow set in stone. All that was left was for me to get home and rest up.

"Crap, it's already going on midnight?" I gaped at the clock hanging above the way out.

"If you'd like, there's a guest bedroom next to mine if you wanna just sleep here." Nepgear offered, standing up with me now.

I waved hands of dismissal and said, "Oh no, no, no, I couldn't."

"The bedroom's right this way," Nepgear walked onwards, not listening in the least bit to me begging not to.

"Guess I don't have a choice in the matter, do I?" I whispered to myself. I looked back to Histoire, still floating along and motioning for me to follow Nepgear. I shrugged and followed along, Histoire dashing to my side.

"I hope you don't mind her too much, she's been really lonely since everybody left," Histoire whispered to me, Nepgear humming to herself happily and unable to hear a hint of our hidden conversation.

"I understand, sometimes a good friend is the cure for any sickness," I chuckled to her. Histoire smiled and radiated a good vibe now instead of the despairing aura she wore previously. We walked up a flight of stairs leading behind the meeting room and to a hallway with two doors ahead and two doors at each end of the hall.

"Your room is the left, if you need anything just knock. Good night!" She departed into her bed, cheery and at peace.

"Good night. Good night to you too, Histoire," I bid farewell, opening the door and flipping the lights on. That vivid smell of cleaned bedsheets mingled with the fresh ocean breeze that lingered in the Basilicom. It felt like a hotel room inside, containing all the basics of any living environment, all crafted of the purest silk and clearest mahogany.

"Good night. Oh, and if you hear any strange noises, that's likely Nepgear snoring," Histoire noted as she hovered off to the meeting room. I dismissed the note as nothing important, set Grindrix next to the bed, and plopped on the comfy bed, taking full advantage of getting such a luxurious room to sleep in as compared to my couch I always passed out on. Though it took me some time to adjust to the awkwardness of sleeping in the Basilicom of all places. I never would've thought my life to take such a twist, but where's a story without one.

My weary eyes opened to a harsh light and a young girl looming directly above me.

"I take it this is how you wake all your guests up?" I asked, still adjusting my eyes to the harsh light above.

Nepgear just smiled and said, "Just wanted to make sure you were up. Compa made us breakfast, so come on down and eat!"

"I'll be down in a second," I started as I rose up out of bed. Nepgear ran off downstairs, leaving the door wide open behind her. "Wait...who's Compa?" I asked myself. I grabbed Grindrix off the corner of my bed and slung her over my shoulder, weighing me down already. I made sure to keep the blades facing down so that it didn't scrape against the door frames. Making my way through the meeting room, I could already smell fresh cooked food.

I could also see that I still had four hours before I had to leave for the Coliseum, judging from the clock mounted above the way leading out of the room. Why Miss Nepgear woke me up so early, I hadn't the slightest clue, but I could already feel myself overcome with morning sickness. I trodged along the path, homing in on the vivid smell of food, keeping my ornate blade away from any valuables or furniture lying about the halls. I came across a double door that radiated the luscious smell of pancakes and french toast. Better yet, I could smell that crispy smell of slightly-overcooked hashbrowns, just as I'd remembered from my youth. I hadn't had a good home cooked meal ever before, but I already had high hopes. Hands on the warm handles, I thrust the doors open to see a banquet of sorts laid out like a divine castle dining room of glass and marble. Inside sat Nepgear, another girl I couldn't identify, and Histoire I guessed wasn't up yet. If she was a tome, I questioned if she would even need to eat or sleep or do other bodily things. But that was another mystery in my head, one that I could ponder another time.

"Make sure to eat all of it, Ge-Ge, you need to be at full strength if you're going monster hunting today," The girl with the long blonde hair educated Nepgear.

"I know, Compa, I didn't even get to eat supper last night," Nepgear said in response, digging into a plate of scrambled eggs that still sizzled softly with heat. "Oh, hi Code! Come eat!" Nepgear waved to me.

"I hope I'm not overstaying my welcome or being a burden or anything," I replied, still awkwarded out by all the generosity. It would be unbecoming of me to intrude on the life of someone as important as the CPU.

"You're fine, please don't worry...uhm...who are you again?" The unknown girl looked at me with suspicion.

"Oh, this is Code, Code meet Compa," Nepgear introduced us. I sat down across from Compa, more than ready to dig into a plate of the delicious smelling food.

"Pleasure to meet you ma'am. I assume that you're the maid of the Basilicom?" I asked in between mouthfuls of food.

Compa chuckled and replied, "I guess I am kinda like a maid, aren't I?" She looked over to Nepgear with an innocent smile.

"Compa's been a friend of mine since I was a kid. She even helped me rid Gamindustry of Arfoire." Nepgear educated me. I nodded silently, avoiding any disgrace of talking with my mouth full. We finished and Compa did the dishes like she really was the maid. Her demeanor and skill sure was like that of a maid.

"So, and pardon me if I seem rude, but was there a reason why you woke me up four hours early?" I asked, examining Grindrix's blade for any knicks or cracks. The blade was flawless, but her controller-like details on the blade's shaft could've used a little touching up. The colored rings on it were starting to fade.

"I was thinking of going shopping and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me," She replied. I could see her gentle eyes examining my axe's every detail, the blade refracting the light from above like the marble table did.

"It's a little late for me to say no, but like I'd say it anyways. Let's head out," I stood up, walking for the door.

Nepgear waved goodbye to her friend and said, "I'm going out, Compa, I'll see you later."

"Take care of yourself," Compa warned, shouting from inside the kitchen. We walked outside to the bright sunlight spanning the floors endlessly. The silver buildings glistened and gleamed and the people were out and about, streets and sidewalks kept active by the still numerous citizens of Planeptune chatting amongst themselves and adding a little bit of liveliness to an otherwise quiet morning.

"So what are we shopping for and where are we shopping for it at?" I asked, curious of our motives.

"I need to pick up cooking supplies and a medical textbook for Compa and a new printer and laptop for Histoire," Nepgear replied, looking at her small phone, tapping at it's screen gently. Occasionally I'd need to pull her out of the way of incoming passers-by but we made it to the electronics store just fine. The store was just like any other store in Planeptune, the land of obscure hardware and overpriced software. It's windows were blotted out by numerous sale posters hiding under the shadow cast by an overly-elaborate neon sign.

I sheathed my axe along a holster attached to the back of my hoodie. I knew the stores well and they were just a little cramped for my enormous axe. Nepgear made her way to the front registers, asking for orders Histoire made.

"It'll be a few minutes before it's completely done," The man at the counter said to Nepgear. I looked around at the gaming software and graphics cards, aiming not to buy but to browse. Window shopping was a major skill in my class selection. Nepgear walked over to me, telling me of news I already knew.

"Are you alright?" She asked looking worrily at my grim expression.

"I'm still a little awkwarded out, being around such an important person so much. I'm sorry if I'm a burden, Miss Nepgear," I apologized, stunning her for a moment.

"You're my friend, Code, don't worry so much," She forced a smile that I saw past.

"Friend, huh? I haven't heard that word in a long, long time," I murmured under my slow breath.

"Do you not have many friends?" She asked bluntly.

"None."

"I'm sorry...that was a little rude of me to ask," She apologized, browsing the hardware with me now. I picked up a high-priced graphics card and eyed it closely, reading all the new features of it's hardware.

"It's fine, no need to apologize," I set the card back down and walked further down the aisle with Nepgear in tow.

"If it helps any, I'm glad to be your friend," Nepgear attempted to brighten the mood.

"It's an honor to be seen as a friend in the eyes of someone as important as you." I replied, faith in my kind soul shining bright, "I wish there were more people with faith in you."

Nepgear blushed a little as she followed me. "And I wish there were more people that would call you a friend," She shot back with a soft heart. It stunned me to hear such words from the CPU. It felt like she had just given my very heart a soft and gentle hug.

"Please...I don't play any of the newest games, I'm a complete noob at comptition, I'm nothing in society," I spoke with despair, looking outside to all the people walking by the shops windows, all of them with some sort of portable console in hand, some gossiping about the newest Final Sci-fi or Echo of Duty.

"I doubt that. That shouldn't matter at all, you're a nice person," She sighed quietly. I never thought I'd ever have the sympathy of the CPU, but she really did care, something alot of people scarcely did.

I chuckled to myself quietly and said, "Thank you. Don't worry about it so much, okay? I can always worry about making new friends another day. But today I've gotta look after you," I smiled to her, hoping she'd let the depressing manner slip her tunnel-vision mind.

"Yeah, you're right. I wonder what's taking them so long to get Histoire's stuff?" Nepgear pondered aloud. I wondered the same, I've never known this place to take it's time getting hardware ready. I was about to reply when my eyes caught glimpse of a very vital part to Grindrix's modifications.

"What's that?" Nepgear asked, eyeing a vivid computer chip I fingered in my hands.

"Otto-Aim. It's something I need really badly for my axe," I replied. She nabbed the chip from hands while I dug around my wallet for some of those credits I won.

I despaired at the sight of my empty wallet and sighed, "Aw, damn! I forgot to put my ten thousand credits in here."

"I can buy it for you! I've still got some credits left over from when I did some Guild missions," Nepgear offered happily.

"No, no, I think I've got some change in here somewhere," I stated, looking up briefly to see Nepgear already taking my chip to the front register. "I feel like I'm taking advantage of the CPU dammit," I thought to myself.

"First she lets me sleep at the Basilicom, feeds me breakfast, then offers to buy my parts. Almost feels like a one-sided friendship," I moaned to myself, stowing my wallet in my pocket. She neared the register just as Histoire's parts were done, paying for all of them and leading me outside.

Nepgear struggled to keep a firm grip on the printer and computer. "You sure you don't want me to carry that? It looks a lil heavy there," I said to her, Nepgear shaking her head in response. Her arms jumbled around frantically as she walked, her step distorted a little from the weight. One arm slipping, her load came toppling away from her, only to land in my outstretched arms, safe and sound.

"Let me do the heavy lifting. My strength level's high enough for it," I lifted the load with no problem, not even slouching.

Nepgear wore a discouraged expression and said, "I'm sorry! I thought I had ahold of it, I'm really sorry."

"Don't worry so much, I'm here for a reason, right?" I chuckled to her, "Anyways, where's our next stop?"

"The bookstore, Compa needs another medical textbook," Nepgear replied, walking patiently ahead of me, leading me on. I peered off to a digital clock mounted above one of the stores, checking how much time I had left til my Coliseum match. I still had three hours left, plenty of time to get the shopping done.

We entered the solemn bookstore that had shelves lined with manga and strategy guides for games both new and old. The smell of dust floated amongst the crowded shelves, but all the books were clean of residue like they had just been put up. Nepgear led me up and down the aisles, searching patiently for the book she needed. I noticed her eyeing occasional manga, skimming through one of them and completely forgetting about her intended motives of coming here. We walked around for a bit longer, searching for a good amount of time until a familiar face greeted Nepgear openly.

"Good to see you, IF," Nepgear politely greeted her friend. I recognized IF, mainly for her work on the Guild's mission database.

"Good to see you too, Gear, sorry I haven't been around to visit. It's been hella busy at the Guild lately," IF said with a skittish smile.

"I can tell, I've been following your Chirper since you left to work at the guild a few years back," said Nepgear, exchanging happy expressions with her faithful friend.

"I see you've got a new guard-dog. Couldn't stand to wander alone, eh?" IF teased. I kept dead silent as usual, focusing most of my energy into keeping Histoire's valued parts aloft in my arms.

"Oh, no, no, he's just...uh..."

"It's fine! Don't go into panic mode, I'm just kiddin'." IF said.

Nepgear giggled quietly, relaxed in seconds flat. "This is Code, he saved my life yesterday," Nepgear showcased me once again, my silence offering little to no greeting other than a simple nod, shrouded from the towering devices I carried.

"Takin' good care of the CPU, huh? Better keep her safe, got it?" IF teased innocently. Again, I simply nodded with no words said. "Well, I'll catch ya later, Gear, I'm gonna get back to work, nice seein' ya again," IF bid farewell as she walked off solemnly.

"Bye, Iffy!" Nepgear shouted the affectionate term a little loudly, grasping IF's attention one last time. IF looked over her shoulder to see off Nepgear, but also caught a glimpse of my enormous battleaxe hidden behind my back, cringing at the sight of the monsterous blade.

"Ah, here it is!" Nepgear pointed out a thick, hardback medical book titled "First Aid and CPR for Dummies.". I questioned Compa's real medical expertise at the sight of such a book, but better to have a medic in training than none at all. Nepgear anxiously paid for the book and carried it in her arms as we left.

"All we have left is the food to get," I noted, leading the way to the supermarket. The traffic picked up alot, people were commonly crowding the thin sidewalks and much commotion dotted the streets. I made sure to pay extra attention to Nepgear. I didn't want a single soul harming the maiden or it'd likely be my ass. I dodged and weaved through incoming civilian traffic, working hard to keep delicate parts in my arms. A pair of distracted walkers slammed right into me and almost made the printer fly out of my hands.

"Get your noses out of the game and watch where you're walking!" I growled at them, mortifying their very souls as they hurried away.

"Are you okay?" Nepgear questioned my instant anger.

"I'm fine, I just wish people would pay more attention to where they're going. Sorry for my outburst Miss Nepgear," I calmly apologized.

Nepgear smiled and replied, "Don't worry so much about it, I remember when Compa used to scold IF about playing with her phone while walking,"

I shrugged off the worry and worked more on finding a way past the crowd amassed at the front of the supermarket. As the breeze silenced and the heat rose around the entrance, the smell of ocean breeze was replaced with an unwelcome blend of produce and sweat from the passers-by. I already knew it was going to be a chore to get in, seeing the countless absent-minded Planeptunians hording at the entrance, chatting and shouting to one another without a care in the world of who's around them. I took one step forward and I was quickly shoved and bounced aside, trying desperately to keep the fragile items in my arms. I gasped and panted at trying to keep my tower of hardware safe.

"Uh, Code..." Nepgear attempted to grab my attention.

"I got this, don't worry..." I panted. The crowd still circulated furiously, but that didn't stop me from trying to get inside the supermarket. I pushed and shoved my way forward but I was quickly thrusted out of the protective barrier of people. The printer and laptop remained intact though, so no loss that time. I looked around to see if there was any other way I could get inside without any damage coming to Histoire's valuable hardware. My eyes didn't catch sight of any other entrance, but I did come up with one idea.

"Nepgear, reach into my pocket and get my duct tape," I commanded. Nepgear complied hesitantly, retrieving my valued duct tape for me. I took the tape with what few fingers I had at my disposal and wrapped it around the box for the printer and laptop, then tethered it to my back, keeping it safe from harm while I plowed my way through. I burst forth with mighty strength inside, hurling bystanders aside as I flew through the thick layer of people. Inside, I could smell the many food products and samples the store offered. I took a deep breath of the air in triumph, beating the horde with ammo to spare. I shoved the roll of trusty duct tape back in my pocket and Nepgear joined me in my victory.

"You do know you could've just waited outside, right? I could've gotten the food and met you back outside." Nepgear pointed out to my dismay.

An awkward silence passed as I processed the logic in my head.

"Well...I didn't even think about that...damn it all..." I sighed aloud.

"I'm sorry, it's okay! You can help me pick out some stuff for Compa to cook. Come on!" Nepgear said with a surprising amount of cheer. I shrugged, weighed down even more by the printer and laptop that kept Grindrix company on my back. The duct tape held well, providing a safety cushion like no other. We shopped along the crowded halls with little hesitancy. I just hoped that Nepgear didn't plan for me to eat at the Basilicom again...


	3. This is your story

We wedged our way out of the thinned out supermarket, Nepgear playing around on her phone/handheld game-thingy while I carried the several bags of food and supplements. The stuff was a lot heavier than I thought it would be, my muscles being taxed a lot more than I'd like them to be.

"Stick anything more on me and I'll get overencumbered." I commented.

"I'm really sorry, I feel horrible making you carry all this stuff, I-"

"It's fine. I kid, I kid, it's no problem," I interrupted her pleas for forgiveness. Truthfully, the stuff was starting to pop bones in my body that weren't meant to be popped, but I didn't want to tell her that. What mattered at the moment was that I drop this stuff off at the Basilicom and get to my fight at the Coloseum. Ahead of us I heard a distant screaming that alarmed me, but when I looked ahead, I saw that it was just one of the enormous building-mounted TV's giving an announcement.

"Badger City, overrun with zombie, had even started devouring vehicles and buildings, making this officially the most threatening zombie attack recorded in Gamindustry." An announcer said on the distant TV attached to the side of a shopping complex that we neared.

"Never a good thing, zombies, never thought such an industrious city would be taken over so fast." I said aloud over the subtle chatter around us. Nepgear put her phone away and focused more on guiding me through the hordes of people.

"I don't wanna ever be one of those things, walking around without a soul," Nepgear gasped at the ferocious sight they viewed almost too well over the helicopter cams that flew over Badger City. A startling sight of an airbourne zombie thrust its deformed face before the camera's, ending the clip with static. It switched back to the local news and by that time we were walking away from the TV, halfway to the Basilicom. I still had about half an hour left before my match. We walked onwards with little said until we were greeted inside the Basilicom by Compa and Histoire.

"Welcome home!" Compa cheered.

"I see you have my hardware. Is there a reason why you have a corset of duct tape wrapped around you and my stuff?" Histoire asked, head cocked to the side in confusion.

"Never hurts to be secure," I stated, reaching for my battleaxe and plucking it from my back. I sliced down one row of the duct tape, threw my axe in the air, caught it, then sliced the other row off, dropping the hardware off at a cushiony red couch. Histoire had Compa deliver the heavy hardware to the meeting room while Nepgear delivered the groceries to the kitchen. I sat at a nearby couch with Histoire nearby, helping me peel the excess duct tape off my jacket. Grindrix lay perched on the side of the couch nearby, shining brilliantly as usual.

"Are you okay from all that lifting? I can have Compa examine your back here soon," Histoire offered.

"I'm fine," I claimed, puffing my chest forward slightly to pop my tense back, "I'm more worried about other things anyways. Monster activity rose again, another city was taken down, and it has me fearing the worst anymore."

"I saw. The zombies are relentless creatures as it is, fueled by all this faithlessness, they're a force of fury," Histoire added, sharing a sorrowful voice with me.

"No matter though, I've got the zombie situation all taken care of," I smiled as I twirled my extra circle of duct tape in my fingers.

Histoire chuckled and asked, "So you plan to beat them with that?"

"Hey, don't diss the duct tape, this stuff's gonna save our asses when the zombies come trodgin' in. Golden rule of the zombie apocalypse: Tape it or die," I shot back with a smirk. Nepgear and Compa, almost on cue, returned from their expected duties.

"Ready to go?" I asked, looking at Nepgear. She nodded and we bid farewell to the occupants of the Basilicom, opening the wide doors and letting in a dusty breeze. Nepgear wanted to stay and chat longer, but I reminded her that I needed to get to the Coloseum. If she wanted to go, she'd have to come on. Outside, I closed the door behind me and led the way for Nepgear to follow. We walked throught the usual alleyways that acted as a safe haven from any chaos ravaging the streets, echoes of daily life reflecting off the narrow hallways. I held Grindrix in front of me, staring into the depths of her blade as I blindly walked forwards.

"Will you really be enough against the monsters? Are you really an instrument of destruction? Or just a grimoir for me once I'm dead?" I asked in the depths of my mind.

"What's wrong?" Nepgear asked quietly behind me.

"Nothin'. Nothing at all," I replied with soft voice, choked up slightly.

"I'm here if you need to talk," Nepgear offered. It made me smile, if only for a moment, to see one person out there that just might miss me if I was gone.

"What am I kidding though, I'm barely her friend, she wont miss me," I thought to myself. Looking to Nepgear, who started walking beside me, I told her, "Thanks. I'll be fine, no worries."

Stepping into the sunlight and across the busy streets, I walked into the Coloseum with Nepgear in tow. Normally, all the contenders would greet me or trash talk, but today everyone watched in amazement, likely from having the land's very own CPU following me like an obedient fangirl. I approached that strange nerd that I disliked and asked, "Hey, think you can give my friend here a front row seat?"

"L-Lady Purple Heart? Why of course! You'll get the spectator's view, promise!" The nerd spat out like a broken faucet. I launched my axe out, blade centered near his neck and growled, "You even so much as unease Miss Nepgear and I'll rip off your head and stuff it down your neck. Got it, kid?"

He nodded and I eased my axe away from him.

"I'll see ya in a few," I casually bid farewell to Nepgear.

"See you in a minute!" She cheerily replied, following that shifty nerd to a spectators balcony that overlooked the battlefield. I didn't trust him for a minute with someone as important as Nepgear, but I at least trusted that Nepgear could hold her own should he even try anything questionable.

I made my way into the foul-smelling locker rooms, finding my locker and unpacking my blade sharpener. It unfolded itself, revealing it's slightly rusty internal works. I set Grindrix inside it's depths carefully and began sharpening the blade once again. I tried my hardest to remember who my foe was today, but my memory was a little foggy as to what my papers from yesterday said. My eyes peered from my blade for a moment, caught on a small rectangular object shaded in blue not far from the bench I sat on. It was a memory card for an older generation gaming console, ordinary and plastic, but when I pressed on the middle of it, it shapeshifted into a throwing star.

"Crap, that's right. He's a ninja or something like that," I whispered to myself, turning the card back into it's more innocent form and storing it in my pocket. Storing away my sharpener, I walked out and into the arena, staring at the blue highlights of my side of the arena. I had blue side again, being switched once again for no reason apparently. I saw off in the distance that the red side was empty.

I looked around and saw my opponent nowhere, but I did happen to see Nepgear in her balcony, waving at me happily. I waved back and went back to looking for where this ninja or whatever was. Eventually I could hear the opening and closing of the red side doors. In the little preparation area, a man dressed in a white ninja's outfit panted wildly. Seeing him in such distress, I thought to myself, "Since when do ninja's sleep in?"

"Welcome to the Coliseum today people of Planeptune, are you ready for some blood?" The announcer boomed onto the field. The crowd flailed and cheered in a hyped frenzy.

"Today we not only have two fierce contenders, but we even have a guest of honor today, the very own CPU of Planeptune, Miss Nepgear!" The announcer turned everyone's gaze above to Nepgear standing in showcase on her balcony.

"Fighting down in the arena, on the blue side, we have the rising underdog of the arena, Code Oprashunal and his battleaxe, Grindrix!" The audience clapped and roared in an excited fury. It sure beat the usual boos and hisses I recieved when I first started coming here.

"And on the red side, we have from the depths of Leanbox, Samurai Raiden and his katana, Murasame!" The announcer gave attention to the ninja standing stoically on the other side. I gazed at him just as he gazed at me, like we were telepathically trash talking. He entered a battle stance and drew his green and black sword slowly, challenging my intimidating axe with it's shining blade. I slung Grindrix over my shoulder and braced myself.

"Bring it," I whispered to myself.

"Ready? Fight!" The announcer echoed, silencing the crowd as they watched us circle the field, waiting for the other to make the first move. It felt like we had been circling for minutes now, but neither of us made a move. He disappeared for a mere millisecond, but in that short time, I felt a warm air near me that smelled of sushi and alcohol. Braced for combat, I swung my axe to the side, crushing concrete barriers that made up the arena's short walls. The stealthy ninja flung back, vanishing into air that was now tainted with clouds of dust.

"Nice trick kid, though you might want to close your mouth before you get too close," I commented, casually picking Grindrix up again, perching her on my shoulder. Walking away from the dust, the first thing I saw was the ninja reappear in midair not even three feet away from me. He said nothing, reaching for some of his throwing stars, unsheathing them and throwing them with untold speed. Braced as usual, I turned my axe to it's side, blade facing skyward, then swung it like a bat, reflecting his stars back at him. He vanished into thin air again, then reappeared midair to my left. I deflected more of his stars, Raiden now rushing at me with his sword outstretched.

He flung his sword right into one of the decorative holes in my axe, signalling for me to fully lodge it inside. Grindrix snapped to the side, giving in to the flick of my wrist, catching his sword perfectly inside. He vanished again, his sword following him and foiling my favorite strategy. He had yet to reappear though, keeping me on guard, Grindrix out and braced. I felt the ground shake violently, the whole arena feeling the tremor. What surfaced wasn't the ninja.

A golden colored worm surfaced, just in time to catch Raiden off-guard. In a second or less, the worm had him in it's maw. All that was left was a bloody arm and his sword. "Some ninja," I thought to myself. A worm surfaced beside me, snapping at my legs. After a quick sidestep, I thrusted the butt of Grindrix at his circular maw and forced it on it's back. It wriggled around then went underground again.

The very foundation of the Coloseum started to shake as a multitude of worms popped up around me, encompassing me in their glowing golden trap. Parts clanked and cluttered around us and an emergency announcement noted that the respawner just shut down, much to my dismay.

"Death be damned, I will not let these creatures endanger the CPU," I whispered to myself, bracing my axe as the first worm made it's move, slithering in a serpentine fashion, maw rising up to strike. I swung at it's head but it dodged out of the way, his face meeting mine and gazing at me with it's numerous red eyes that pierced my soul. In a panicked movement, I shifted out of the way and slammed my foot on it's wriggling tail. It tried to escape, but I begged to differ. Grindrix's spear tip at the end of it's top shaft thrusted clean through it, killing it thoroughly. I wasn't done yet though, there were more of it's pack ready to eat my flesh. The foundations of the Coloseum shook again and the balcony that Nepgear was perched on started to crumble. I gazed up in horror to see her sliding off the tipped balcony.

A pair of sandworms waited patiently below, mouths dripping with stinky saliva as they wagged their tails happily. I took Raiden's sword and chucked it like a javelin at one of the waiting sandworms, then threw Grindrix at the other, neutralizing any threats below Miss Nepgear. Slipping off and landing with a thud, she was protected for a few minutes while she recooperated. I tried desperately to dislodge Grindrix from her embedment in the concrete. The pack moved in slowly, one of them rearing to attack. I reached into my pocket quickly and activated the throwing star I picked up earlier, throwing it right down the beast's throat, saving us for another few more precious seconds. I tugged and pulled at Grindrix to get her blood-soaked blade out of the wall to no avail. Nepgear was still nervous as she rose, her heart beating so fast and loud that I could distantly hear it. I quickly threw her Raiden's sword and with a worried expression, she caught it and tried to hold her ground. Sweat poured down both of our faces, seeing our imminent death.

"Fight kid, fight! Use your HDD!" I shouted at Nepgear, her hands shaky as she swung loosely at an incoming worm. She panicked and sidestepped away from it's lunge, not even trying to fight back. A second worm joined in the attack and had her dancing a deadly ballet. I forgot about Grindrix for a moment and homed in behind the worms centered on Nepgear.

"Hey, you ugly pieces of shit, come get some fresh meat!" I distracted the worms, both of them turning their gazes at me. Three more worms joined in nearby, popping up from the floor and encompassing me. I looked around frantically, seeing my death staring at me with red beady eyes.

"Go, Nepgear! Fight for us! We have faith in you!" The crowd cheered to Nepgear, grabbing her deepened attention. I ducked and dodged out of the way, avoiding hungry maws with rapid effenciency. I could feel their rancid breath on my bare skin, sending a shiver down my spine every time they got near. A random mouth fed on my leg though, carving deep wounds into my flesh, making me wince. The worms saw their chance and circled closer, ready for the kill. A flash of light filled the whole arena, blinding even the worms in a holy radiance. As the light faded and I could see clearly, Nepgear was fully transformed in her lilac-colored HDD form, sniper in her hands.

"I'll never forgive you for threatening my people and hurting my friends!" She shouted in fury, thrusting forward and shredding apart the many spawning worms. Her power was incredible, she cut through the worms and thinned their ranks in mere seconds flat with the grace of a god. The ground rumbled no more and the bodies littered the dirt floors of the arena, disappearing to the sky one by one. I tried to rise up, pushing through the pain in my leg that still gushed blood. Nepgear helped me up, hands warm to the touch.

"People of Planeptune, rejoice in your faith of your glorious CPU and my only friend, Lady Purple Heart!" I boomed out onto the field, standing rigidly and proud to say that the remarkable girl was our goddess. The crowd cheered in happiness and joy, forgetting all the blood that littered the arena. Nepgear blushed slightly then reverted back to her normal form, helping me dislodge Grindrix. I slipped and fell to my rear in pain, holding my leg that had flesh and even tendon ripped. Nepgear pulled out a potion and healed my leg completely, the solvent radiating the harsh smell of rubbing alcohol as it mixed and mingled with blood and dust.

"I suppose we can call it even huh?"

"I-I'm still in debt to you! Even more so now, that's twice you saved me!" She shot back, helping me up again. The dorky referee came out shakily, approaching us with knees bouncing side-to-side.

"Uh, uh yeah, so sorry bout the fight, but I guess technically you won the fight so here's your credits," He threw me my credits and ran off like a scared child, not even bothering to iterate his favorite casual insult to me. I shrugged it all off and walked with Nepgear out of the Coloseum.

"Let's get you back to Compa, she can take a look at you better at the Basilicom," Nepgear anxiously said, urging me forward.

"She can look at me up to my theighs, she ain't getting any higher than that," I shot back casually. One reason I never went to hospitals: nurses. For one, most of them aren't skilled in it, for two, they're usually very...provocative to males.

"My goodness! Compa'd never...well...maybe she would. I'll warn her beforehand," Nepgear worried, leading me through the alleyways. I chuckled at her cautious state of mind, but at the moment, I was glad to see that she was alright. It'd be a heartbreaker if I lost my first friend.


	4. War, War Never Changes

"I'm telling you Compa, I'm fine, I had a potion earlier," I repeated again. Compa struggled against me powerfully, keeping me down while she thorougly searched my body for scars, bruises, and just about anything she would remotely consider an injury.

"You need to be looked over, you were hurt really really badly! Jacket off! Now!" She innocently commanded. I struggled about in her girlish medical lab that was on the eastern wing of the Basilicom. Nepgear and Histoire worked patiently in the meeting room while I was tended to by Compa in this pink room with an interesting half-couch half-examination table in the middle.

Compa struggled but eventually got my jacket off, plopping it on a nearby couch as she examined the bare skin that wasn't hidden by my shirt. Scars and bruises scattered amongst occasional acne spots kept few parts of my arms a perfect peach color. Compa gasped at the horrific sight then searched about her cabinets for jars of strange liquids. Most of what she sorted through smelled like simple rubbing alcohol, but I wasn't about to judge what it was from that.

"Just hold on for a moment and I'll have all of those healed up, good as new," Compa said with pride in herself.

"It's fine! They're healed, not bleeding, see?" I pointed to a red tooth mark that was still red from the battle earlier. It was healing, but not quite done covering the wound with scabs. I hoped that a nurse with such 'knowledge' would shrug off the scar, but such hopes were futile.

"Now hold still, this'll heal it right up!" Compa had a washrag soaked in a strange vibrant fluid, aimed for the wounds and scars of my arms. She thoroughly doused my wounds in the dripping liquid and a painful sensation worse than any blade or bullet filled my heart to the brim.

"Son of a bitch!" I screamed loud enough to scar time. No longer did I smell rubbing alcohol, no, I there was only the thick stench of burning flesh.

"Oh no! What happened? Was that the wrong solvent?" Compa questioned herself as she flipped through the pages of her medical textbook. I held my mouth open in pain, my eyes bugging out and breath absent from my lungs. I couldn't breathe, couldn't shout, and now couldn't even move, paralyzed by the pain.

"Can't...feel...arms..." I gasped still trying hard to draw breath. I finally fell back at peace on the cushioned examination table, the ceiling light shining brightly above me, staring at me with it's white light. I felt like somehow, that white light was mocking me, thinking, "Sucks to be you, nerd". My arms were completely numb, the solvent slowly numbing my shoulders and neck. I leaned my head forward to see my arms bubbling and vibrating rapidly, sending themselves into a frenzy. Compa dug around for another fluid and filled a syringe with it.

"This is it, I'm absolutely 100% sure!" She declared happily, shooting me up with the pink liquid. My vision faded in and out now, overdosed with chemicals. I started seeing the world in reversed colors, thermal vision, x-ray vision, monochrome, and several other visual filters that made just looking around a vivid hell.

"Pretty lights...strange lights..." I looked about with widened eyes, my arms appearing blue to me and Compa's pink hair appearing black. It was like being at a rave party, just without the music. Vision returning, I could see parts of my skin giving in to translucency. The flesh was there but what was seen was bone and tendon, some perfect and some chipped or torn. Compa panicked even more, rapidly shooting through her book in frustration and concern. She went to reach for another one of her books, clumsily knocking over a vial of green liquid on my legs, melting my jeans into near-nothingness and splashing over my skin. I quickly lost feeling in my legs just as I had with my arms.

Compa bent over to pick up one of her medical books she had on the floor and accidentally knocked over the examination table. I couldn't feel anything, but I could see my world spin as I was dropped onto the carpeted floor. I channeled what little sense I had left and crawled my way to the closed door. It felt like I had been put in a dryer for two hours, my brain unable to remember what was up and down. The door I crawled desperately to with my clawed hands swung open quickly, slamming into the side of my head and blurring my vision.

"Ooohhh..." I groaned as my head danced around slowly on my neck. I looked up to see Nepgear staring in horror at my head, skin still translucent.

"Zombie!" She screamed, running off in fear. I gave up being conscious and just plopped my head on the floor, falling asleep peacefully on the carpeted floor.

(+_*_+)

I looked solemnly around, standing at the edge of a cloud, drifting along a sea of sky. I sat down, the fluffy cloud zooming along this cloudfield like a dream. Well, I guessed it was a dream, but whatever. The path was peaceful and the gentle breeze calmed me as I waited without a word said. Not even Grindrix accompanied me on my celestial journey. In the distance, I saw a castle-like ruin, waiting for my arrival. I felt at home as I stepped onto the rugged rock that hadn't felt the fleet of foot for ages upon ages. Walking forward, I felt a hand on my shoulder, firm but soft. I turned around but saw no-one. Looking back, I caught a glimpse of a close blur dash around me. I pretended to turn around then dashed my head back to catch a young girl watching me with a cheery smile. She looked like Nepgear, but with shorter hair and a different outfit.

"Aww, drat, you caught me!" She gave a sour look, her voice a lot more high-pitched than Nepgear. I gave the young girl a raised eyebrow to show her my confusion.

"Nepgear?" I asked.

"Close, but nopers! Wanna guess again? Maybe buy a vowel?" She asked in a friendly jest.

"Sorry, kid, I ain't got time for games," I passed onwards, walking forward to enjoy my dream again.

"Hey, hey, hey! You apparently don't know who you're talking to!" She shouted back, following me by my side.

"Don't need to know your name to know I'm not talking to you."

"Well, just rip my heart out, why doncha?" She gave me shocked eyes that didn't ring any vivid emotions for me. I could tell she sure liked to joke alot, but sadly I'm not much of one for kiddy stuff.

"Look, kid, is there something you want?" I asked, trying to keep a grip on my patience.

"Yeah! That's what I've been tryin' to get to all this time, but you keep bein' a jerk-face!" She shouted back with a voice that could pierce the high-heavens.

"Then speak now if you ever intend to speak at all," I shot back, walking along the straight path of peaceful brickwork.

"I wanted to tell you sumthin' important. Something very very important."

"Yeah? You wanna say it already?"

The girl took a smiling breath and said, "I wanted to tell you to watch out for my sister, little Nepgear, or Ge-Ge, or whatever you know her as."

"She's your sister, huh?" I asked, surprised that such a polite and graceful girl could ever be related to such a loudmouth.

"Yuppers! She's my pride-n'-joy! I haven't been able to watch out for her much, but I digress or some word like that." She said cryptically.

I had a gut feeling that she's just screwing with me, but I knew she wasn't just going to leave me alone anyways.

"I want you to watch out for her. Now, I don't want you kissin' her or doing things to her body, or..."

"Don't know whether this is something good or bad for you, but I lack a sense of male hormones," I interrupted her to get closer to the point.

"Lemme' finish!"

"As long as you don't go prattling on about what not to do."

"Alright! Anyways, I can't really take care of her or pamper her or anything, so I'm leaving that up to you. She doesn't have anyone other than Histy, and she's all alone in the Basilicom like a sad trapped princess. I want you to make her happy again, I miss seeing her happy. Think you can be her family while I'm gone?" She explained. I started slowly interpretting her words as true the more she spoke. If this really was her sister, I could understand how even her childish phrases could carry along meaning.

"I can do that. I haven't anyone's back to protect besides my own," I replied, chuckling silently to myself to look back on when I spent each and every day to myself.

"Yay!" She shouted, leaping onto me and grasping on like a lost child or something. I stopped moving for a minute, weirded out to an extent, but returning her hug happily. It felt so warm, enlightening to the touch. Then I remembered, remembered Nepgear talking about what happened to her sister, when the last generation of CPU's were lost in the fight against Arfoire. Or at least, they were assumed lost. Never did they come out. For the first time in years, I shed a small tear to see what poor Nepgear had lost.

"If I may, can I ask you something?" I asked, letting her go from our warm hug. She dropped to the floor and asked what I wanted.

"What's your name?"

"My name's Neptune, and I'm the former CPU of Planeptune," Neptune replied with her cheery delight.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Neptune. I'm Code."

"Cut the formalities, we're family now! Let's see, what nickname should I give ya?" She pondered aloud, much to my dismay.

"How about you just call me Code and say that's my nickname?" I offered, hoping she wouldn't try calling me anything rediculous.

"Okey-Dokey!"

"Thank goodness," I whispered to myself.

"Well, 'bout time for the dream sequence to end, but before I go, I wanna give ya somethin'," Neptune announced.

"Hmm?" I mumbled before being blinded by a flashing light. I looked over to see a more mature woman standing next to me, apparently being Neptune's HDD form. She smiled the gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. I was shocked a little, but still relaxed, even smiling back to her.

"Please, protect her. She's all I have left and I want her to stay happy as long as possible. I may not be able to be there for her, but you can at least. I want you to be her loving brother, willing to watch over her at any time. Can you promise me that?" She asked, voice deeper and no longer breaking my ears.

"I can't promise anything. I'm sorry," I said, with a fake grim expression that Neptune now shared with me. "but rather, I can swear it on my life that she'll be in good hands from here on out." I smiled to her.

"Thank you. Farewell for now."

"Goodbye...Neptune..."

(+_*_+)

I woke up with a ringing in my ear and a blurry vision. Faintly I could make out Nepgear and Compa looming over me and speaking. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but my hearing was slowly coming back to me. I could see faintly that my skin was cleared of obstructions now.

"Are you alright? If you feel nauseous, that's a normal side effect of the antidote." I could make out Compa's soft voice.

"By the Nine, what did you pump into me this time?" I shouted, looking again at my bare arms to make sure they weren't growing spikes or tentacles or bone scythes.

"Do not worry, I guided Compa through the proceedure and your body is pristine again." Histoire confirmed me as I looked about. My muscles relaxed and my mind was soothed hearing that the clutzy nurse didn't poison me again.

My head drooped onto the cushiony examination. "I don't know if I can take anymore of all this excitement...so tiring..." I moaned.

"I'm really really really sorry about the mess. I promise, I didn't mean to, I'm still learning after all!" Compa said, repeating her apologies five times over before I had to stop her.

"Relax, I've been in worse," I started, sighing a deep breath, "But if you wanna make it up a little, fetch me my jacket. I feel naked without it."

"Right away m'lord!" Compa replied. I couldn't hardly tell if she was joking about the m'lord part or if she was actually serious about that label. I slipped my jacket back on and relaxed even more, most of the pain from before gone and the rest quickly dissapating. Stretching my legs, I got up off the examination table and readjusted to walking around without my body being numb or in pain.

"So, now what?" I asked, puffing my chest out to pop my back. Histoire and Compa gave me a shrug and Nepgear looked down at the floor like she was sad about something.

"Miss Nepgear? Is there something on your mind?" I asked politely.

She perked her head up, still saddened, but replied, "I'm really sorry to ask for your company again, but would you like to follow me to the Guild?"

"The Guild, huh? Feelin' like fighting or something?" I asked while I retrieved Grindrix from her distant perch.

"I really want to help the land I'm supposed to protect. I haven't had alot of hope to do anything. Ever since I lost my sister, I've felt even more helpless than before. I really wanna get back out and help put my nation right," She gave a hopeful speech, but I hoped that could back her low battle prowess.

"Then let's hop to it," I led her out of Compa's torture chamber and down the hall with Histoire helping Compa clean up all the mess she had and properly sort out her medicine jars. Nepgear was quiet on the way out but once she hit sunlight she flourished. Her eyes opened and she wore a cheery smile as we walked.

"You seem pretty perky. You photosynthetic or something?"

She chuckled and said, "I'm just a little excited. It's been so long since I've taken up a quest at the Guild."

"You think you're up to it or something?" I teased. I made sure to watch the streets carefully to make sure there weren't any crazy taxis running amuck, ready to run over a civilian or two.

"I-I think I can hold my own. I need to be protecting the people of my land."

Speaking with little emotion as usual, I said, "Then I'll be honored to serve you on this mission to serve Planeptune."

"I-I promise to make this worth your while, anything we find is all yours!" She said, layered with a finicky voice.

"You need to relax some. I protect you out of charity, Miss Nepgear, you needn't worry so much about pleasing me. I'm just fine with having the honors of serving you and this world," I replied, sighing as we turned another corner, closing in fast on the Guild. Nepgear nodded and we entered the golden colored walls of the Guild. One could already smell the fresh ink and monster blood lingering in the glossy halls of gold and silver. A few desks littered the expansive room, but the rest of the room was mainly bulletin boards and benches.

"So, were there any missions in particular you had in mind?" I asked, looking at the bulletin board, plastered with many requests, stacked up into three layers of paper. So few people fought the monsters anymore, it was amazing Planeptune hadn't been conquered yet.

Looking at a slaying mission, Nepgear asked, "How about this one?"

"Recent studies in a desolate cave were ceased when an abnormally strong monster started eliminating scientists and soldiers. An important artifact was said to be near that location and we need it cleared out soon so we can continue searching. Any assistance would be appreciated."

"Clearing mission, huh? I think we've got this," I smiled to Nepgear. She nodded with a cheery smile, then went stowed away the request in her little pouch she had on her leg.

We exited the Guild and were greeted by a familiar face, at least one for me.

"Kick any ass lately? You still owe me a rematch." Davis the Fisherman greeted me semi-casually, tipping his sailor's cap that matched his scraggly white beard.

"Depends on if you actually did your homework or not," I chuckled.

"Ah, reading's for whinnies! Real fighters fight on board the ship, not sittin' at home reading bout them," He replied, following us as we headed to our destination.

"Can't argue with that one. So what brings you up an about?" I asked. It was refreshing to see a fellow rival that wasn't sputtering trash-talk like a broken garbage truck. I wondered if he'd lost his mind completely or if he finally found the rest of it.

"Lookin to get some fishin' done. Gotta feed the kids at home," He replied, tipping his hat to another one of his passing friends.

"Fishing level?" Nepgear asked, finally piping in from a long period of silence.

"Ninety-seven. Can't wait to get my skill cape!" He replied. "Well, time for me to catch some sharks from the pond. Have fun with whatever you're doin'," Davis departed, waving goodbye. I returned his wave then looked back to Nepgear, humming to herself a merry little tune.

"You ready for some action?" I asked, looking over to her. I made sure to watch my path though, I knew the way to the cave wasn't a simple one.

"Yeah! I think this is going to go out really well." She replied with a truthful confidence. I smiled to see her regaining her hope. Things would be easy with her increased power too. Activating her HDD made her even more powerful than me, and that was saying something considering Grindrix's stats. We weaved in and out of many paths, forests, and past a few lakes, eventually nearing a blackened cave leading into the depths of the underground. I stepped close to the blackness and a holographic message displayed from an unknown source.

"Warning: Some monsters may be stronger than what they appear." The holographic message read. I pushed the thing away and worked down a steep slope of dirt and rock. Nepgear struggled to keep up, her legs only going half the speed.

"If-if it's not too much trouble, could you wait up for a moment?" Nepgear asked politely.

"I'm getting down faster so that if you do fall down, I can be down here to catch you," I shot back.

"Well, okay...just stay in sight okay? I don't know this place very well," She said with an echo in her voice as she crawled down cautiously, her legs and arms hesitant to move down the steep cliff.

My feet hit the cavern floor and I looked up to watch Nepgear climb down, saying to her, "Don't worry kid. I'm here for a reason right?" She struggled, but made it down without a scratch. I motioned for her to follow, slung Grindrix over my shoulder, then made way into the cave. Distant droplets of water dripped loudly and the air was cold and damp, smelling of a salty breeze and a hint of rotting flesh. Occasionally as we walked, we found crystals poking out from the walls and sometimes we'd see pieces of excavation equipment ready to pluck them from their rightful homes.

"Come look at this crystal Code!" Nepgear shouted. Her voice bounced amongst the cavern, likely awakening some slumbering beasts if there are any nearby. I walked over to a prolific cluster of crystals, purple and glowing, Nepgear observing them closely. Her hands slid gently along the sides of the flawless crystal. The gem broke off from it's cluster, causing Nepgear to grow shocked and worried.

"Nice one, next thing you know we're gonna have an orange marsupial crashing into us for the damn thing." I jested with her, assuming that she wasn't going to understand that I'm joking.

"I-I didn't mean to! What the goodness..." She panicked even more, just as I predicted.

"Give it here, I'll hold onto it," I snatched it from her hands and stowed it away inside a pouch attached to my cargo jeans. It was well protected inside of there, but if it gives off any 'mystical powers' and starts shocking or burning me, I'm chucking the thing. A sound of distant buzzing caught my ear, disturbing me from my thoughts. I looked around, gazing as far as I could see down the dark caves, but caught no sight of a monster. Nepgear shrieked and I turned my head to see that same cluster of crystal now crawling along the wall. It left a deep hole where it used to be, and it was clearly angered from losing one of it's crystals. I prepped Grindrix and Nepgear had a hold on her Beam Sabre, both of us ready for a fight.

"Get ready!" I shouted to her, hoping she could maintain her courage this fight. There wasn't any crowd to cheer her on in here. Nepgear nodded her head and waited for our HUDs to appear. Quickly, a group of numbers appeared on the sides of our vision. Having the preemptive strike, the spider attacked first, piercing it's fangs into Nepgear. The damage wasn't too bad, but she still winced in pain, slashing down on it's abdomen, slicing a deep cut into it. It didn't bleed, but it was clearly in pain.

I had next go, gripping Grindrix happily and slicing off it's crystaline legs, one by one. It fell to pieces, signalling it's demise. Our XP meters raised some and dissappeared. I took a close gander at Nepgear's leg, a little bitten up but otherwise fine. I dug around in my pockets, retrieving a snack stowed away from earlier.

"Eat up, it'll restore a little HP." I handed the snack to her. She stored away her sword then took the snack, eating as we walked along. I kept my eyes open for more crystal spiders and any other monsters wanting to attack us.

"Are you alright?" Nepgear asked as I spaced out. I snapped out of my trance and said, "I'm fine, just wondering something..."

"Whatcha wondering?" She asked, still munching on her snack.

"You always see people getting attacked by monster but why? Why do they attack in the first place? And what of docile monsters? Surely not ALL of the monsters in the world of Gamindustry are out to kill us." I spoke in logical tongue as I pondered.

"Maybe we're trespassing in their territory, or maybe their hungry?" Nepgear reasoned.

"Sure that's reasonable for some cases, but all of them?" I responded.

"Hmm...well maybe it's the effect competitiveness has had on the monsters," Nepgear filled my satisfaction of having a reasonable explaination.

"That...I suppose makes sense. Anyways, I think I see another spider ahead, brace yourself..." I noted, grabbing Grindrix from her perch on my shoulder. A whole band of six spiders came charging as soon as we were in sight. Nepgear prepared her weapon and we both braced for carnage. Nepgear being the fastest with her weapon, had the first strike, chopping away at one of the spiders.

She had their attention now, killing one of their brothers was a fatal crime in their world. One of the spiders to her left leapt at her, but met it's doom at the hands of Grindrix. Sliced in half, it fell flat on the floor, a small amount of XP gained from it's death. I rested my back against Nepgears, both our weapons out and ready. A flood of more spiders now completely encompassed us, all of the strangely not making a move yet, just skittering about.

"Well this just got interesting," I whispered to myself in disdain, watching the horde of spiders circle around us. They all made their moves all at once, jumping and leaping with fangs extended. In a flurry of defense and dance, Nepgear and I kept out of harms way until my AP stored up for one of my skills. I instructed Nepgear to brief safety, then made my move. I leapt in the air, close to the ceiling, then pushed a button on Grindrix. I threw my battle axe to the floor horozontally, starting it's 'spin-cycle'.

Once it hit the floor, the blade extended in size and reach then rapidly spun on the floor, grinding rocks to dust and spider legs into oblivion. I racked up a lengthy number of kills and XP and once I hit the floor, Grindrix was done with it's attack, I scooped it up and plopped it on my shoulder. We walked away from the disappearing graveyard of dead spiders, acting like nothing happened. Slaughter has never felt so right in this world before. We neared the end of the cavern, the area littered with excavation material. I could hear a massive beast moving around in the back, rocks mumbling silent notes of movement.

"Boss Fight!" A red hologram appeared as we entered a massive arena-like chamber. A large sandworm appeared before us, massive in size, so massive that only a part of it could be out at a time.

"Here we go!" I shouted happily, priming Grindrix. The worm made the first move, attacking me with it's tail. I leaped out of the way but it smashed it's tail again on my legs. I gritted my teeth in pain then leapt back up, ready to show this beast who was boss. Nepgear channeled her inner power then transformed into her HDD form. Her sniper-blade armed, she dashed forward to the beast, slicing into it's hardened skin. It snapped at her constantly, missing its quick target. While it was busy, I began assaulting it from another side, carving up it's tail efficiently.

It grew smart and gripped onto Nepgear with that cut-up appendage. I sliced at it's abdomen but it refused to release it's grip. Staring into her eyes, the worm used it's petrifying gaze to lower Nepgear's speed. I jumped highest I could then slashed a mighty gash down it's neck, forcing it to let go of Nepgear and flee into the floor.

"Yeah, I think I just pissed it off," I mumbled, keeping my guard up.

"It was already angry to begin with!" Nepgear shot back. The ground shook terribly then in the blink of an eye, Nepgear was gone, swallowed by the sandworm.

"You killed Nepgear, you bastard!" I shouted in horror. My fears faded when I saw into Nepgear's plan. The worm was cut right in half from the inside as Nepgear sliced a perfect 360 degree cut into it's skin. The top half of the worm grew gray and slid off from it's lower half, revealing young Nepgear covered in digestive slime.

"You alright?" I asked, helping wipe herself off.

"I'm fine, I'm just thankful to see that problem taken care of. Now we can return back to the Guild and claim our reward," She smiled to me then reverted back to her normal form. I heard a distant clank and clutter come from the top half of the worm.

Calling for Nepgear to hold on, I retrieved a stonework relic from the depths of the worms upper half. The slime poured off of it, revealing three geometric holes in it.

"What is it?" Nepgear asked, looking at it with interest. Runes of strange lore were etched onto the surface and grooves covered the holes in it. The stone triangle had three handles on it's three sides. I couldn't quite make out what was inside the depths of it's middle, but it had a fourth slot in the middle.

"I honestly couldn't tell you...I've never come across anything like this before..."


	5. Folks Need Heroes

I constantly fingered the device, confused but mystified by it. I twisted it about in my hands, viewing it from every angle as I followed Nepgear back to the Guild. I wasn't about to expiriment with it's mystical power just yet, but from what I could sense coming from the aura eminating from the runes on it, it was a celestial power indeed, maybe even a relic from Celestia. Whatever it was could be better figured out by Histoire. I stowed it away in my inventory and began walking beside Nepgear instead of following. She walked with a smile and a peaceful gaze, a radiant smell following her always. Even after wallowing in dirt, dust, and blood, she still retained a pristine beauty with her. We entered the Guild, greeted by it's steely walls and bulletin boards. Nepgear was eagerly greeted by IF, standing at the bulletin boards in search of a quest or mission.

"I see you took the quest I wanted, damn my luck huh?" IF smiled to Nepgear.

"I'm sure you had no problem clearing the caves with that huge hulk followin' you," IF commented looking towards me.

If she expected me to feel flattered, she'd be mistaken.

"Code's been a big help to me," Nepgear replied, looking up to me.

"I'm glad I could be of service," I said dryly.

IF piddled with one of her phones for a few minutes before stowing it away in her multicolored belt, returning to the conversation and asking, "Anyways, you find anything down there?"

"Code and I did find this strange artifact down there, we think it's a rare drop!" Nepgear exclaimed. Seeing that I had the relic, I retrieved it from my inventory and held it outwards for her to see.

IF admired the strange stone, eyeing it carefully but offering no better information than what Nepgear and I had. "I think your best bet's gonna be Histoire. I've been to a ton of dungeons, but I've never seen anything like that. But I guess that's quest items for ya, maybe it unlocks some sort of secret bonus dungeon?" IF joked with Nepgear. Nepgear returned a smile then instructed me to hoster the relic in my inventory.

"I suppose Histoire will be the judge of that," Nepgear chuckled. IF showed her over to the turn in booth, helping her get back into the groove of turning quests in. She was handed her five thousand credits and a small vial of HP potion.

"I take it things have died down in the Guild?" Nepgear asked.

"The big stuff has. All that gets done now is hunting small-fry monsters." IF shied away, embarrassed slightly to see herself out of a job in a sense.

Wearing that peaceful, friendly smile that she so elegantly mastered, Nepgear asked, "So would you maybe like to come help me and Code?"

"If you're sure I won't throw off your groove, I'm sure I can hop in to help."

"I'd really like to have you with us," Nepgear ran off, accepting IF into the party whether she wanted to or not.

"I don't suppose you mind?" IF asked, looking up to me.

I told her simply, "It's not my decision. It's Nepgear's."

"I guess that settles it then," IF finished, presented with a holographic message from Nepgear to join our party. She accepted it with no hesitation.

"So are we ready to head back to the Basilicom now?" I asked, throwing my voice mainly to Nepgear. She nodded then led the way, automatically assuming the role as party leader. She walked with a confident strut while IF and I walked beside each other. The awkwardness of being around someone was the same with IF. She didn't trust me and I didn't trust her, but regardless of that, it was Nepgear's wish to include her in our battles and I respected that. I would at least try to get along with this strange girl. Her eyes zoomed back and forth towards my axe, like she was trying to make sense out of what it was. Finally she asked, "You seem a little young to wield that thing."

"I wouldn't wield anything else," I replied with a deeper tone of voice than usual. I wondered how she would react to intimidation. I could already see her keeping her distance from the blade that rested happily on my shoulder.

"How long have you been fighting?"

"Been a few years now. Started when I was 10."

IF, slightly shocked, uttered, "Geez."

"And you? I'm sure you have quite a track record with the Guild," I asked.

With a slight smirk, IF said casually, "Done lost track of how long I've been there."

"I know I've seen you before on TV," I said, vaguely recalling IF's name appearing on a headline or two. Most of those headlines unfortunately were about the decline of Guild members.

IF rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, don't remind me. I'm not a fan of them badgering me about the 'current state of the guild' like I freakin' own the place."

"They either see a lot in you as a Guild member, or they just enjoy annoying the hell out of you," I commented with a slight smirk.

"I'm leaning more to the latter," IF finished dryly.

"You two seem to be friendly already. That's good," Nepgear said, looking over her shoulder to us. IF seemed a tad-bit red in the cheeks, something I secretely smiled about. We rounded the corners and turns needed to get back to the Basilicom and by the time we neared the Basilicom, IF and I managed to settle some sort of common ground. At least someone around here likes Creature Energy besides just me.

"Histoire? Are you here?" Nepgear searched around for the floating tome-girl. From the meeting room she floated to us.

"Hiya Histy," IF greeted Histoire, not changed at all in the past few years of not seeing her.

"It's nice to see you again IF, Nepgear and I have missed your visits," Histoire greeted warmly, even more polite than Nepgear.

"Well, now I'll be around more often, your CPU wants me to run along for some more adventuring," IF chuckled. Histoire smiled and nodded her head.

"So how did the mission go?" Histoire asked, looking to Nepgear. Her soft green eyes had this strange scanning look anytime she turned to face someone, like she was openly scanning them for information. It made me wish for one of those scan visors that I see selling at the software stores.

"We found something you may be interested in." I stated, retrieving the relic from my inventory once again, promptly handing it to Histoire. She scanned over it then made a shocked expression.

"I'm guessing it's no ordinary quest item, huh?" IF asked, watching the stone glow.

"It's just as I had expected, it's the shell to the Sparkholder." Histoire replied in a cryptic tongue.

"Explanation plox," I impatiently asked.

"When Gamindustry was created, the True Goddess had made the core of the world with vital Sparks that supplied Gamindustry what it needed to thrive. This is only one of the Sparkholders, but a very vital one. From what I can tell, this Sparkholder was made to hold the Spark of Creativity, the Spark of Joy, and the Spark of Sport," Histoire gave us a lengthy speech but a much needed one. Hearing the names of those sparks surely explains why Gamindustry is such a mess.

"So your saying that this thing is a part of the world? Right?" IF asked bluntly. Again she played with her phones, listening still but not using her eyes for anything but checking e-mails.

"You're mostly right. This shell however, is missing its Spark Core, what channels the sparks energy," Histoire still examined the runes plastered on the Sparkholder.

"Do you know where this Spark Core is?" Nepgear asked. I wondered the same, but at the same time, I dreaded hearing that it would take 'three days' to look up the info. By the time she gets her facts straight, I can bet that the Spark Core will be long gone.

"Yes, actually, there should be a temple, possibly ruined, somewhere at the outskirts of Planeptune. Ironically near the cave you just visited." Histoire shocked us all by having the information on hand and ready.

"What are we waiting for then? If that's that, let's get a move on," IF stated, already well on her way to the door.

"I agree with Iffy, thank you for the help Histoire! We'll be back soon, promise!" Nepgear waved goodbye as she was lead forward by IF.

"I apologize for their abrupt departure. I shall watch over them carefully," I nodded to Histoire, leaving and quickly catching up with the dashing duo.

Running full speed, we weaved in and out of the people walking the sidewalks, eventually reaching the steel city walls. Exiting the city, I took lead to help them find the way to the cave. I didn't expect Nepgear to remember or IF to even know.

"Set yourself to follow me, we don't want anyone getting lost here," I commanded as we ran.

"You seem confident," IF said from behind, her claws out.

"Someone's gotta lead. Would you care to do it?"

"I think I can give up the spotlight this time," IF replied.

I had Grindrix in one hand, her magnificent blade scraping along the floor and leaving a huge gash in the earth as I ran. A Dogoo squad jumped around in the path ahead, but taking them out consisted of bouncing atop their heads like a plumber.

"Can we...can we slow down a little? My run energy's getting low," Nepgear asked. Instantaneously, I turned my run mode off, as did IF.

"Why'd we even start running in the first place?" I panted. Nepgear and I stared at IF who started the marathon.

"I was in the mood!" IF said innocently.

"It's fine, excercise is never a bad thing," Nepgear made a good point.

The cave was in sight. Again, that annoying holographic message warned us briefly before being shoved out of the way. I leapt down the steep cliff, Grindrix aimed for cliff wall. Once the floor was near my sight, I shoved my axe into the wall, slowing my descent as Grindrix left an enormous gash in the side of the cliff face.

"Good thing that worked, or the fall damage probably would've left me a splattered mess on the dirt," I commented aloud.

"Don't forget, there aren't any respawns in RL. One little screw-up and it's game over," IF returned, helping Nepgear down alongside her. I scanned the tunnels ahead for life signs, none were detected, but I couldn't shake off my uneasy feeling. Something was wrong, very wrong. We were in the cave not even a day ago but it felt like so much was different. Nepgear and IF finally reached the ground and followed me onwards. IF slowly began walking next to me, Nepgear remaining behind, somewhat paranoid of the dark cave.

"Let's try not to pluck anymore crystals while we're in here, okay?" I asked Nepgear, looking over my shoulder to her. She nodded quietly, then looked around quickly.

"This place has 'corridor effect' written all over it," IF commented, keeping her voice down to avoid waking the natives.

"Yeah, definitely not the most heartwarming place. But you know RPG's anymore, the deeper and darker the cave, the more likely all the walking around is gonna be worth it at the end," I stated. I broke the fourth wall a little more than I wanted to, but it was true. IF chuckled silently then nodded her head. I kept my eyes focused forward, wondering why I started smelling a thickness in the air.

"Stop." I commanded, holding back IF. I looked down to see the floor's cel-shading to be a different color than the rest of the floor. Taking a grip of Grindrix and raising her high above my head, I slammed her blade into the floor. The floor cracked and crumbled away, revealing a steady river of lava extending at least a few yards ahead.

"Wh-when did this get here?" Nepgear asked staring into the heated stream carrying melting pieces of rocks.

"Well, magma helps form crystals doesn't it?" IF asked logically.

"Suppose it does, makes alotta sense. Unfortunately, this marks the beginning of the platforming side of this dungeon. Hope you both are good jumpers." I commented, taking the first leap onto a smoldering chunk of charred earth. It sunk slightly, but withheld my weight. If someone with as much weight on their shoulders as me could make it across this river of lava, I had faith IF and Nepgear could too. I could've done without the boiling heat though. It was harder to draw breath, and not only that, but I was sweating profusely in a matter of seconds.

My path ran short, there wasn't any other platforms for me to get across with. Thinking fast, I chucked Grindrix like a javelin at the ceiling, embedding it inside the crusted rock. I jumped mightily, then double jumped, reaching Grindrix's hilt and ripped it out of the wall. The momentum I gained propelled me to another floating island of rock. Still holding a strong momentum, I embedded the spear-head of Grindrix into the island and used that to pole vault my way to the other side.

"Whoever's up next, be careful. I don't know how stable those islands are now," I shouted to the other side at Nepgear and IF. IF gave the ceiling a long look then shot out her claws and used the rocky roof as a set of monkey-bars to climb across.

"Okay Nepgear, your turn! You can do it!" IF and I shouted together. A flash of light shone brightly as Nepgear turned into her HDD form and effortlessly floated across the river.

"Well I guess that works," IF said with a shrug.

"'Work smarter, not harder' as I say," I replied.

"If that's the case, might as well turn on no-clip while your at it," IF said, wearing a nonchalant smirk as she left the room. Our convoy made it back to the cavern where Nepgear and I fought the giant sandworm. The body of the sandworm had already disappeared, likely at the Gamindustry Graveyard by now. I looked around carefully, checking for any secret passages or hidden levers. I didn't see any difference in the walls signalling another wall to break. Behind me I could hear the distant whispering of Nepgear and IF behind me. I stepped towards a distant wall and felt a sudden rush of air as a bullet whizzed right next to my shoulder. The simple shot of a pistol sounded like a cannon in the enormous room.

"What the hell?" I shouted looking back at IF.

"Damn sleeves are still too long," IF grumbled, ignoring my shouts and hiding her pistol in the dark void made by her long sleeves, "Look," IF continued. She pointed to where she shot at, revealing that there's a wall of brick hidden behind the rocky cavern wall.

Bewildered, I asked, "How'd you find that?"

"I didn't. Nepgear's the one that figured it out."

"Look up!" Nepgear pointed to a stonework pillar emerging partially near the corner of the caves, directly above where IF shot. I whistled in amazement, then approached the wall. Nepgear and IF started walking towards it too when I stopped them.

"Stay back for a moment." I instructed as I gripped my axe and scrolled through my skills list.

I thrusted Grindrix up in the air with a mighty heave. It spun around vertically, and as soon as it was the proper level, I kicked it perfectly on the bottom of it's shaft, firing the axe like a cannon into the wall and shattering it completely. Rocks and stonework collapsed, falling onto the dark floor. The dust scattered around, Nepgear and IF coughing while I stood firmly, my eyes clenched shut as the passing dirt and debris tickled my face.

"How the hell did you do that?" IF asked staring blankly at the gaping hole in the wall.

"Let's just say I've learned a thing or two from hack-'n-slash games," I replied, stepping through the hole in the wall and retrieving Grindrix. My axe's blade was still as sharp as ever, glistening in the faint torchlight. Nepgear and IF both followed onwards, Nepgear taking lead into the temple ruins.

"Keep your eyes open for hidden traps. These ruins, as old as they are, still somehow have functioning traps," IF noted to Nepgear.

I felt a strange air breathing on me, something with cold-as-ice breath was right next to my leg. I could feel my cargo jeans dropping in temperature until I looked behind me. A Wrockweiler leaped at me with it's spiked teeth bared. I dodged out of the way, only for it to start in on IF's leg.

"What the-" She started as she punted the dog away. It stood back up on it's brick-like feet and growled. We got into battle formation as the creature howled for backup. "Get ready!" IF shouted to Nepgear and I. We both retrieved our weapons and prepared for a fight. Three more Wrockweilers appeared, legs held up by mystically levitating bricks of dark color. Their eyeless heads twitched about on it's mystical teathers that kept it held together. IF made the first move, slashing away at their alpha, the one who called in reinforcements.

She clawed furiously at it's brick structure, chipping away enough of it's health to trigger the Guard Break. I helped fend off her other attackers, punting away their gaping maws with quick battleaxe swings. Nepgear stepped in to batter away at the creatures I punted, helping keep them down. Through well conducted teamwork, we quickly dispatched the creatures. Rooting through the remains of the creatures, I found the occasional potion and a few credits, along with a few other things.

"Plus-2 Timewarping Flamberge if you want it Nepgear," I held up the red longsword to display to her.

"What are the stats on it?" She asked examining a hologram that appeared from her Laser Sabre, giving a display of it's offensive stats.

"Let's see, we have +27 slash, +14 crush, and a slight HP bonus," I read off the hologram that appeared from the Flamberge.

"Thanks, but I'll pass," Nepgear replied, ready to keep moving. I tossed the sword aside and it disappeared along with the Wrockweiller bodies.

Getting up from the dusty floor, I asked, "You find anything, IF?"

"Just a bunch of antipoison. No weapons or armor," She replied, getting up and following Nepgear and I as we walked further down. The air was very musty and tricky to breath, constantly leaving the taste of old dust on my tongue. The cold tunnels twisted and shifted about constantly as we walked. I noticed the abundance of plantlife and hardy minerals about the tunnels. Occasionally I'd stuff my pockets with medicinal leaves and occasional fruit, enjoying the buffets of usefulness just laying about so casually.

"I wonder why it's so foggy in here," Nepgear pondered aloud.

"It's the fog of war. Keeps you from seeing what enemies lie ahead," IF informed, Nepgear nodding with interest and a bit of confusion.

I saw the entrance to a large sacrificial chamber, decorated with strange tapestries. We weren't even close to the room yet and I felt a very bad vibe radiate through my body. There was something of ill origin resting in there. "Stay back in here, I'm going in alone. If anything happens, I don't want any of you hurt," I commanded.

"Are you stupid? You might die in there!" IF shot back.

"Better safe than sorry. This is my fight and my fight alone." I brutally replied, walking forward. I didn't want either of those two hurt. I just wanted to test my true strength in here, whether I died or not. The wall sealed in a mystic barrier behind me once I stepped into the sacrificial chamber. Nepgear and IF both begged for me to come back, but this was one fight I wanted to do alone. As the "Boss Fight!" message flickered in and out of view, a large Wrockgolem barreled forth from the fog of war, smashing into the wall as I dodged out of the way. It's club like arms of floating brick swung wildly around, searching for a target.

The creature's bricks were a darker shade than normal, and it's makeshift brick face glowed with a dark essence. This creature wasn't a normal temple mob, it was enhanced and enraged by an unknown fury. I quickly selected my hotbar and selected my skill for usage. I pressed a switch on Grindrix and leapt into the air, slamming my axe into the floor and starting it's spin cycle. It chipped bricks and stone of the Wrockgolem, angering it even more. I found myself in an even worse situation when my skill's time had run out. In a fit of rage, it smashed it's fist at me, blocked by Grindrix. I used both hands to block it's powerful bash, but that almost wasn't enough. The creature slammed it's other fist into my side and sent me flying into the wall. I felt bones pop and snap from the horrific impact, pain like no other surging from my back.

Muffled by the mystic barrier, Nepgear and IF shouted in horror. I flung myself back up, ignoring the pain completely. With just a split second to think, I dubbed Grindrix ready for its mod testing. Using the switch hidden on it's hilt, I pushed the button anxiously to begin it's transformation. One of it's mods triggered, an unfinished and finicky one. The blade folded in and the bottom of the shaft formed into a gun barrel, a chain of bullets falling to the floor from it's modified upper shaft. It worked, if only for long enough to hold of the golem's rage. It charged again just as Grindrix finished it's transformation into Shredrix.

I dodged out of the way again and opened fire on it, piercing mighty holes in it's brick structured body. It was really getting pissed, blindly smashing it's fists into the ground, pounding the brick floor into dust and making it hard to keep out of the way of it's fury. The dust surrounded the room, leaving only a black shadow and a single purple eye in my vision. While I was blinded, it successfully smashed my leg in, crushing it outright.

"Son of a bitch!" I screamed, shedding a small tear of pain. My breathing grew irregular and I struggled to stop shaking, my nervous system unable to contain the agony I was in. The more my heart sporadically pumped blood through open wounds, the more I felt my anger and adrenaline circulate through my quivering body. Pain and fury channeled my own rage even further, holding onto the trigger tightly. With the last of my breath and power, I fired a stream of sharp bullets. Its lacerated structure crumbled as it lost part after part. It fell face first into the floor, little remaining but small chunks of enchanted rock. The mystical barrier keeping the rest of my party back disappeared.

IF, after giving me a brief scolding for my actions, asked, "How'd you know?"

"Wrockweilers don't spawn in this area. I knew something was wrong the moment I got near the chamber," I wheezed, changing Shredrix back into Grindrix and using her to hold me up. My knees were shaky and so were my arms, not to mention that my leg felt like it had been put in a car crusher. Nepgear provided immediate medical attention, soaking it in potions and solvents that slowly inflated my crushed leg back into it's working condition. I tapped the foot on the floor to check and see if I could walk on it. Luckily I could. Once that was taken care of, Nepgear rushed in and grabbed onto me in a worried hug.

"Don't do that ever again, I was so worried!" Nepgear said firmly. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was close to crying.

"Alright, alright, I promise I won't do it again," I soothed her quietly. IF walked over to the remains of the Wrockgolem, still black and crumpled. Strangely it didn't disappear at all, just remaining there. I let go of Nepgear and revealed her teary face. "Everything's okay now, promise."

"O-Okay," whispered Nepgear.

Still examining the body, IF piped in firmly, "We're a team, Code. We need to work like one."

Sadly, I couldn't argue with her.

"I'll be sure to think before I act a little more. Anyways, let's see what the big boy had in his inventory," I said, digging around in it's remains for anything of use. Feeling something strange, I pulled out a map from it's corpse. Looking at it, I grew heavily amazed.

"Well, here's where the 4X rule's gonna come in handy." I commented, looking at the map carefully.

"4X?" Nepgear asked an expected question.

"Explore, Expand, Exploit, and Exterminate, 4X. It's used by Leanbox's military when they're entering a large and unknown dungeon," IF informed, preparing a trio of colored cell phones. She tossed a red phone my way and a purple one to Nepgear. I hoped there was enough signal down here to be able to communicate.

"Nepgear, you can find us something to eat, mark places as you go with an X or something. Code you can look around to find the Spark Core. I'll stay here and guard our homebase. Dismissed!" IF commanded effeciently, taking the role of armchair general very well.

"As you command," I mumbled, getting ready to leave. I had to change my skill set-up again and check on Grindrix's durability.

"I'll do my best!" Nepgear exclaimed, running off to find food. I worried about seperating from her, hopefully I'd run into her somewhere along the way. Before I could leave through the open door before me, IF called for me.

IF, standing before me with a dire expression, said, "You need to be more careful, and a little less reckless. For our sake at least."

"Why?" I asked.

She gave a long, withdrawn sigh and asked, "You know what'll happen right?"

"What?"

"If you die, she'll just blame herself for it. She won't get any better, she'll sulk because she couldn't protect you. I somehow don't think you'd want that."

Again, I couldn't argue with her. There was guilt in my heart for charging forward with such reckless abandon, but I still had it set in my mind to protect Nepgear at all cost.

"Don't look so sad. I know you don't mean bad. Just keep in mind that we're a party."

I nodded firmly and said with a hint of jest, "I'll keep that in mind, IF of the Guild."

"Please, drop the formalities. The news reporters do that crap and it drives me nuts," IF said with an easy smirk.

I nodded and took my leave finally, ready to advance at all costs. The halls were barren save for a few torches and that aged smell that would make elderly folk feel young. Meanwhile, I kept my eyes open for this Spark Core or whatever it was. I didn't care what the name of it was, if it could help put Gamindustry back together, I'd gladly work for it. I'll give life and limb to protect that which I hold sacred.

(+_*_+)

"Can I really do this alone? Am I still too weak to fight?" Nepgear doubted herself still. She had true power, a little faith, and good friends that have her in high interest. Why she doubted herself still just showed how much faith in her has been lost. The CPUs anymore, they were as mortal as their people. Nepgear held her back to the cold stone wall, then peered around the corner silently. A pair of Wrockweillers had their backs turned to her, standing guard obediently. Nepgear drew her sword out then rushed at them, earning a preemptive strike and even a critical on the left Wrockweiller. Silently and effeciently she sliced them into oblivion, looting their bodies clear of any potions and items.

"That was easy. They didn't put up much of a fight at all," Nepgear declared happily to herself. Just as she attempted to walk away though, a monstrous stonework creature riding on a single wheel of stone crashed through the wall to stare down at Nepgear. Nepgear's eyes widened as she slowly started crawling back, her knees shaking and her mind wanting to flee.

"Blood!" The stonework chariot fired forth with two stone blades extended. Nepgear ran the other way, weaving through halls in panic. She eventually was cornered into a dead end, seeing her stonework doom ready to roll down the hallways. If she tried to duck under it, she'd be crushed, if she tried to jump, the thing would slice her to bits.

"Nepgear, you can do it! Have faith, you can win!" A distant voice in the back of her head cheered her on. She gritted her teeth and grabbed her laser sword, charging to the creature just as it charged to her. She wedged her blade under it's rolling wheel, making it topple backwards. The wheel stopped long enough for Nepgear to begin her Mirage Dance, cutting up it's wheel and only form of locomotion apart. It had no way to move now, levitated stones only moving so far away from each other. Subdued and vulnerable, it struggled to no avail as it flailed it's swords around. Nepgear climbed over it and performed a downward thrust into it's knight-like skull, shattering it to bits.

"Whew...that was a little more than I needed..." Nepgear sighed as she walked away. Unfortunately, she hadn't the slightest clue as to where to go now, her path lost. Even worse, she hadn't found a single bit of food. When all hope was lost, she happened upon a series of strange fruits growing from the ceiling. What such luscious looking fruits were doing growing in a desolate place like this confused Nepgear, but she didn't dare question it.

"Iffy and Code will be so happy when I show them these yummy looking fruits. But what are they even called?" Nepgear looked up as she plucked them, ironically finding a growing label titled "Pumpa Fruit"

"Pumpa Fruit? Strange name, but it tastes good," Nepgear commented to herself, her voice gently echoing down the halls. She silently vowed to try to cut off her bad habit of talking to herself then walked along with an inventory full of fruit.

(+_*_+)

I encountered no resistance yet, the paths were just strung with alotta obstacles and puzzles. I hated the puzzles, but the whole jumping and leaping across platforms thing was a cinch for me. The platforming and puzzles grew more and more difficult the further in I went, eventually becoming a real hazard to my health. "There had better be some cake or grief counsiling after all this, one measly Spark Core is starting to become a smaller and smaller prize the further I got in." I thought to myself as I entered a room about as large as the sacrificial chamber I was in earlier. It was filled with thin pillars and wooden structures that clearly meant an Assassin's Guild type of challenge. I didn't have the steadiest feet, but if the fall damage didn't kill me, I could probably ease my way up to the top of the room where the exit was.

"Here goes nothing..." I sighed to myself, stretching before I got to leaping. The small rock pillar wasn't too slippery, but my fingers couldn't hold onto it's dusty exterior too well. In a crouching position, I leapt mightily onto the next narrow pillar, then the next until I had the momentum to keep going regardless of the obstical ahead. Disaster struck as I hit the top of a crumbling pillar. The structure gave way, my feet victim to gravity. I grasped onto Grindrix then threw her like a javelin into the floor, making a makeshift platform to balance on.

"Balance and tranquility...balance and tranquility..." I sighed quietly, trying to maintain balance. I grabbed onto my axe again, then bounced back up to the next pillar, Grindrix in hand. The last leap was a tough one, but I had a plan. Feeling bad for the punishment towards Grindrix, I threw her again like a javelin to make an extension to the final platform. I worried about this sketchy leap, but let my leap of faith do the talking. My feet hit Grindrix's blade squarely but as soon as it felt my weight, it gave and dropped me. My hands held on for dear life, my axe resting heavily on the tips of my feet. Her curved blade made just the right size of hole for my feet to hold her up. I could feel sweat pouring warmly down my neck and face and I could taste dirt in my mouth as I constantly urged strength to pull me up. I crawled up the side, finally getting up and pulling my axe up with me.

"Couldn't do that again if I wanted to," I grumbled, laying back under a torchlight, relaxing on the hard stone floor. I heard the chiming of the phone Iffy gave me, then pulled it out of my hoodie pocket, checking the number. I realized that I likely wouldn't recognize any of the numbers anyways so I blindly opened it up to hear the voice of a man rather than a girl.

"Are you the Overseer?" The man asked mysteriously.

"Yes." I replied, trying to keep my voice down to avoid the wakening or alerting of any hostile forces.

"Has the expriment on Locker 101 been compromised?" He asked with a shakey voice.

"Yes, information has been leaked on the expiriment. Chaos has ensued at all angles," I lied, quietly smirking like a child playing a prank on the neighbors.

"I see. Have all subjects terminated ASAP."

"As you command," I finished, hanging up. I couldn't tell what kind of hell I just spawned, but I already had the feeling that something big's gonna be up on the news tonight...

(+_*_+)

IF sat patiently in the middle of the sacrificial chamber, fiddling with her phone and deciding on what strategy she'll take in locating the Spark Core down in this catacomb. She also silently wondered why she was even on this journey. She'd already helped Nepgear on one journey, so why another? Of course she'd be willing to help her out considering their pasts together, but why would it make any difference as to if she was tagging along or not? Then she remembered exactly why she often went with Nepgear's insane adventures. "Someone's gotta be here to make sure they don't kill themselves."

(+_*_+)

After gathering occasional vegetables and herbs scattered amongst the dusty ruin floors and walls, Nepgear finally relocated her way back to homebase. IF greeted her warmly then helped sort out rations.

"Did you run into any 'scary ghosts' or 'spooky skeletons' and get scared?" IF joked with Nepgear.

"I wont lie about being scared, but I didn't run into anything like that." Nepgear replied, sorting out some Pumpa Fruits for equal rationing between the three in the party. IF chuckled then proceeded into the back of her mind to question her morals some more, something she rarely did.

(+_*_+)

I finally gained the energy to get up from my torchlit resting spot, then walked down the darkened halls of gloom and doom, empty and void of all life besides myself. In the distance, silence was broken by something walking slowly down the halls. I crouched down, knowing this to increase my stealth despite the giant axe that I held in both hands. As I neared the shadowy corner, I peered around it to see nothing but a shadow on the wall moving down the hall slowly. Not a single physical being was around, but that animal-like shadow kept creeping down. I dared myself silently to approach it but by the time I comprehended the thought, the shadow was gone.

"Strange..." I whispered silently, standing back up and slinging Grindrix over my shoulder. I walked forward a few steps and noticed a lever attached to the side of a distant wall. Worried to an extent, I braced my hands, one on Grindrix and the other on the lever. Grasping it's cold stone with my hand, I pulled down on it and a shifting filled the silence of the room. A primitive hologram appeared saying "Checkpoint Reached", then revealed a secret passage leading straight back to the sacrificial chamber where Nepgear and IF waited.

"I'm back baby." I joked while I made my grand entrance. Nepgear greeted me and IF just nodded.

"We're going to eat a quick snack then I'm going to follow you around for a while. We have plenty of food for now," Nepgear handed me a small ration of food to eat. I eyed the strange fruit and vegetables for a moment then hardily bit into it. The fruit was good, sweet but slightly bitter, adding a zing to it. I had a hard time keeping the vegetable down however.

"What is this stuff?" I asked looking at the green and partially white vegetable.

"I think it was called a leek. I've seen them before, something about a meme," IF added her input in, toying with her phone again. I shrugged then finished the meal. The herb leaves were minty, helping my stomach digest everything okay. I was tempted to ask IF about that person that called earlier asking for an Overseer, but I kept my mouth shut amongst this manner. Far be it for me to get my ass chewed out or something. Besides, if she knew I lied to the strange man, my Lily rank would more than likely go down. Packing up my materials, I ventured forth with Nepgear in tow up the short staircase I unlocked earlier.

"I'm thinking that we aren't far from the Spark Core, but whatever's guarding it likely isn't friendly. I've been getting some bad vibes about this place," I commented, moving around the long shadowy hallways lit by fewer and fewer torches. I worried still about that shadow from earlier, it had a seriously negative aura around it. Just thinking about it made my mind feel like it was being shoved under black water. Taking my thoughts away from the shade, I focused more on keeping Nepgear at ease. I wouldn't want her to get nervous and run off in fear. She gets lost in here and I'll have a helluva time trying to find her. Then again, a white and purple schoolgirl uniform is bound to stick out pretty well against a purely brown background.

A trio of Wrockweillers bursted from around the corner, not ready to fight, but rather to run. Whatever spooked them apparently wasn't good.

"Poor things, I wonder what has them so scared," Nepgear wondered.

"We probably don't want to know," I replied, walking around the corner they came from. A vicious darkness encompassed and spiraled in a dome of sorts around something. Distantly in a small round room the dark purple sphere shifted around in a flurry of motion.

"What the goodness, what is that thing?" Nepgear asked, trying to step back from it.

"It's our enemy, the one thing blocking us from the Spark Core," I grabbed onto Nepgear's hand tightly, "Let's go. We've got this," I finished. She shook herself back to reality then shakily walked with me towards the darkness. As we neared it, it began to fade into the floor, as if scared away by our presence. As the darkness left, it revealed a grim sight. The Spark Core, it wasn't there anymore.

"Who could've taken it?" I asked, confused. I looked down to see a glyph of darkness surrounding all of the circular floor. My guess that evil forces were at hand. "The Graveyard," I whispered, thinking aloud.

"Hmm?"

"The Gamindustry Graveyard, the Spark Core is there, I'm sure of it. That's the home of all darkness, that's where it was taken," I noted, leading her out with me. Our trip back to IF was short and speechless, silence taking over our thoughts.

"Well? Where is it?" IF asked, looking at our empty hands.

"Not here. It's in the Graveyard," I mentioned that name and IF grew a sour look. She remembered it just as well as Nepgear.

"I'll go ahead and secure the path back, you two talk about what you need to," I bid a brief farewell and walked forward. For Nepgear to keep this quiet, I knew that bringing up the Graveyard wasn't a name she wanted to hear. I made my steps silent and my breath hidden as I walked into the fog of war...

(+_*_+)

Nepgear looked like she was on the verge of tears again, but this time she had every reason to be.

"Look, I know you don't want to go back there, but it's for the good of Gamindustry, right?" IF opened up to Nepgear.

"I just still can't forget...after all these years I still can't forget. That graveyard has made so many bad memories for me..." Nepgear sighed shakily. Her breath turned cold just thinking about the place where she lost her sister.

"I still miss her...I miss her so much..." Nepgear despaired. IF tried her best to comfort her, gently holding her even though she found even this a little too awkward for her liking.

"I do too, Compa and Histoire as well, but they're moving on just like you should be. It's hard, I know, but do you really think Neptune would want you moping around in the land you're supposed to be protecting?" IF tried thrusting her back into rational thinking.

"You're right, you are completely right, but no matter how right you are, it still hurts..."

"And that's why you have friends around to help you through the hurt." IF finished. Nepgear took the time to relax and think, trying to get her mind off the death of her sister. Twas a grim thought, but she was the new CPU of Planeptune, she had to keep her head high whether she wanted to or not. They both gathered their items and moved out from the chamber.

(+_*_+)

"Everything okay?" I asked, leaning against the rocky cliffside we had to descend to get down to the ruins.

"Yeah, let's go," IF answered for Nepgear. I waited for Nepgear to make it silently up to the surface. Halfway up, she slipped, descending faster than IF could catch her. I dropped Grindrix to the floor then held my hands out to catch her. With a thick thud, I caught ahold of her and she rested in my arms, shriveled up and eyes shut tightly in fear.

"Hey...you're okay." I smiled to her as I helped her on her feet.

"Th-thank you!" She bowed happily.

"You needn't say thank you, kiddo, I'm here for a reason remember?"

Nepgear smiled and nodded, making her ascent again. She made it safely to the surface, then I channeled into my epic assassin climbing skills and scaled the cliff in seconds.

"Show-off," IF commented.

"You jelleh?" I asked walking forward with a slight strut.

"Hmph, you wish." IF said.

Turning my gaze from IF to Nepgear, I worried about her deeply. I wanted only the best for her and seeing her so distraught made me fail like I was failing my promise to Neptune. Broken from my thoughts, I noticed that as we entered the city, there was a bit of disturbance. I looked up to a street light to see it go from red to green then right back to red. A trio of cars crashed into each other, our party keeping our distance. We took a step forward and the cars that had just crashed zoomed right past us again.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked, wondering if eating all those shrooms or leeks or whatever were screwing with me.

"Da-amn la-a-ag..." IF complained, voice distorted by an unknown force. The whole world just froze around me, everyone stuck in place. I could still look around but even my body was numb. A minute passed and whatever just happened finally stopped.

"What was that all about?" I asked looking around in case I missed something.

"Its lag, hits Planeptune the hardest. It happens whenever a monster accidentally knocks the world servers offline." IF explained. Nepgear had no problem with it though, or rather, this kind of problem was insignificant to her eyes at the moment. Her mind still seemed plagued with worriful thoughts. Distantly, I could hear that midcity TV talking of another zombie attack.

"It seems Willamette City has just been placed under the zombie attack list, being another city near Lastation to be taken over not just by zombies, but monsters all around. Lagoon City and Rebeat Resort both have been completely swarmed by enemies and even Lastation itself has been attacked a few times. Here's the CPU of Lastation, Uni, to comment on this issue:" The reporter continued distantly. I couldn't see the TV but I could hear it well enough.

"It's not like they're winning or anything! They're just getting a...a lucky break is all! We don't need even need the cities they're taking over, the more important cities will have more than enough firepower to hold off the attackers." Uni commented loud and clear, also dissing some of her own cities just because she had the pick of who gets saved and who doesn't.

"Poor poor display of leadership," I thought to myself.

It wasn't but a few moments later that we were past the busy streets of Planeptune and onto the doorstep of the Basilicom. The Basilicom doors flung open warmly to greet us inside. Nepgear was still quiet as ever until Histoire and Compa approached us.

"Did you locate the Spark Core?" Histoire got straight to the point.

"No. Turns out it's in the Gamindustry Graveyard," I replied, earning a sour look from Histoire.

"That doesn't bode well at all..." Histoire commented.

"Ge-Ge, you look like you've been crying! Did you get hurt out there in the cave?" Compa looked closely at Nepgear, trying to locate any scars or bruises. I slowly backed away from the crazy nurse, not wanting to be put on that damn examination tray again.

"Well, should you need to go to the Graveyard, I can supply transportation there. But first I reccomend you all get plenty of sleep first," Histoire advised. That's what I liked most about Histoire, no matter the situation, she could always supply a rational and logical solution. Her intellegence, coupled with her mannerful attitude, was a combination I could never complain about.

"I agree. Though tonight, I think I'll sleep at home. It's just a little awkward for me to sleep at such an important place. Besides, I need to check Grindrix out to make sure that I didn't fracture the installed Otto-Aim," I leaned against the wall with Grindrix in hand, examining her blade for nicks or cracks.

"IF, do you wish to stay here?" Histoire asked looking at IF.

"Works for me. Compa, easy there, she's fine," IF tried to pry Compa away from worrying about Nepgear.

"Code, can I follow you home?" Nepgear asked out of the blue. It was random, but far be it for me to say no.

"As you wish," I motioned for her to come. I felt like an overly protective father or something, always taking her away from Histoire and Compa, I felt rather cruel and guilty for it. "Are you going to be okay, kiddo?" I asked, looking at her sad, gloomy head that hung lower than my hoodie pockets.

"Ye-well, I'd be lying if I said I was..." She sighed. It broke my heart to see her so down, it truly did.

"If you need to talk bout it, I'm here," I offered, looking over Grindrix's blade again.

"It's just so hard, going to there. I'm not just scared, I'm sad too..." Nepgear despaired. It was a little hard to hear her over all the chattering voices around us. The people of Planeptune were pretty active today. I opened the door to my house via the hand-scanner, clicking and whirring greeting us in. The door shut silently behind me, locking.

"You'll be fine, I'm sure. But you gotta quit moping over the past. It's not gonna get you anywhere in the future." I advised. I sat down on the couch next to her, relaxed, observing Grindrix happily on her perch above the TV.

"It's hard not to. I...I really don't want to go there. I don't want to go back to there, I'll just be a burden..." She sighed and moped.

"Don't look away from what hurts you. This is an illusion generated from your own heart. It's easy to run away, but that wont solve anything. Come out and face it," I replied with strong words. Nepgear remained silent for a few moments, thinking over what I've said.

"Am I really strong enough to make it in there?" She asked aloud, looking over to me, sadness still encompassing your eyes.

"Silly girl, your strength lies not just with you. It comes from the faith and love your friends have in you too. Of course your strong enough, I believe in you, all of your friends believe in you."

Nepgear smiled to me then finally relieved herself of stress with a deep breath and a long sigh. "You're right. I shouldn't desert my friends like that. I'm sorry, very very sorry," She gently apologized.

"Sorry isn't needed in this party, silly," I smiled to her briefly, then reached for the TV remote. Hopefully nothing too saddening or depressing was on the news today. I turned it on and all I had was static, signalling that the engineers of Planeptune were doing maintenance on the satellite broadcasting.

"Well, looks like it's gonna be a gaming day," I said to myself as I walked over to turn my Omnivox on. It whirred and spurted a small cloud of dust from it's exhaust fan, but turned on happily. I had a trio of different controllers on a small display shelf above it. I grabbed a Leanbox-style controller and directed my console to play something Nepgear and I could both enjoy. I handed her a second controller and she happily accepted.

"I've never seen any console like that before. Is it really really new or something?" She asked, eyeing my Omnivox, observing it's baroque white detailing.

"It's custom. Completely custom. I got tired of sapping power having to have so many different consoles plugged in to enjoy them, so I made a console that plays everything and anything. 850 terrabytes of data storage, quadruple disk drive, high-speed wi-fi, generally everything a hardcore gamer could ever want put into one neat little package," I showcased my console proudly, able to say I made it completely by myself. Nepgear's eyes sparkled now, amazed at the technology put into it.

"Anyways, how about a nice, fun puzzle game?" I asked.

"What do you have in mind?" Nepgear asked, looking over her controller to make sure she knew where everything was at.

"How about Gateway 2? I hear it's had some pretty good reviews."

"I've heard alot about that game, I've always wanted to try it. You'll have to show me how to play though."

"It's pretty simple..." I started showing her the different controls. Time flew by as we played, stress relieved easily in the joy of the game. We had a lot of fun getting some time to just have fun. I know that Nepgear really needed this sort of thing to ease her mind from all that's been going on...

(+_*_+)

"Alright, you get plenty of sleep tonight okay? I'll see ya in the morning." I bid Nepgear farewell as she left to return to the Basilicom. I, however, had no intention of getting alot of sleep. There was alot to do tonight. I plucked Grindrix from her perch then laid her on my workbench. My Otto-Aim mod was already installed, if not a bit hastily, before. What concerned me though was how harshly I tested it. I was extremely lucky that Shredrix worked as well as it did back in the ruins, one jammed mechanism and that Wrockgolem would've made me quarter-of-an-inch thick. With that thought, I carefully disassembled the Otto-Aim with the intent of tweaking it. I wanted to limit how much it could fire and see if I could instill a perk or two into it.

Fiddling constantly with mechanisms, switches, levers, and wires, I finally achieved my finished project. So much money and work has gone into it, but Shredrix was finally finished. On top of having an enormous battleaxe, I now also had an LMG with regenerating ammo. Such a beauty comes only once in a lifetime, and I'd never trade her off for anything. After all, she was a valued memory of mine, a memory of something I lost a long time ago.

Done with that little project for the night, I stood up, but before I could head back to the kitchen for a drink, something red fell outta my pocket. I remembered then that I never gave IF her cell-phone back. Flipping it open, I quickly found one of IF's cell-phone numbers and dialed it.

The ringing from the phone, dull as could be, went on for a few minutes before I heard IF's lazy voice ask, "Who is this?"

"I think you forgot something." I told her, not even wasting my time to explain who it was.

"Oh, guess I did forget about that didn't I?" IF chuckled.

I went along with her and threw back a chuckle of my own, saying to her, "I'll return it back to you tomorrow."

"Thanks. I'll try to remind you."

After a short silence, I asked IF, "If you don't mind me asking, is Nepgear doing better?"

"Yeah, doesn't look like she's too torn up. Looks like you did something to cheer her up."

Releasing a sigh of relief, I said, "That's really good to hear. If she does start to get choked up-"

"I'll be looking after her, don't worry."

"Thank you. I owe you one," I said, wearing a soft smile.

"Oh, don't thank me or anything." IF said bashfully, "It's what I do."

"Alright, well, I'll be getting to bed then. Good night."

"Night."

And with that, I felt something odd within me. Something I didn't expect to well up inside of me. I felt like I was starting to like IF...  
>(+_*_+)<p>

"Ge-Ge, as your medical officer, I demand that I go with you to the Graveyard!" Compa demanded, eating supper with Nepgear and Histoire.

"Okay," Nepgear simply submitted.

"Uh..uh, well that's settled then," Compa didn't expect such ease in convincing Nepgear to let her go. A holographic message appeared on Nepgear's phone that laid on the table, saying "Compa has joined the party." Nepgear closed the window out and continued eating.

"We're going to need provisions if we're going in there. Do we have enough credits to go shopping online?" IF asked, fiddling with her phone while she ate.

"Iffy, put the phone down while your at the dinner table," Compa gently instructed. IF silently obeyed, tucking her phone away in one of her multi-colored pouches on her belt.

"What did you have in mind? I have a few thousand credits to spend," Nepgear replied with her mouth full, words distorted a little.

"Ge-Ge, don't talk with your mouth full." Compa instructed again. Nepgear nodded then swallowed her food.

"We'll need potions and revivals in case an accident happens. Some new weapons might be helpful too," IF struggled to work properly without the help of her phone. Out of nowhere, a shiny metal sphere shot through the ceiling and smashed into the dining table, leaving a web of cracks in it's glossy surface.

"Eeeaaaarthhh!" The sphere shouted.

"What the goodness!" Nepgear exclaimed. The sphere, one metallic eye rotating and jittering about, examined it's strange surroundings.

"Am I on Earth? Oh how I like Earth! I love Earth, Earth is so cool, am I on Earth? Hey? Hey? Hey? Are we on Earth?" The sphere blabbered on at an insane speed. IF, annoyed and distraught, picked up the sphere like a basketball, walked outside of the front door of the Basilicom, dribbled the steel sphere a few times (putting a massive dent in it's side), then drop kicked it a few miles away.

"Damn those freakin' random events! Always pop up when you least want them too," IF shouted, aggravated. She sat back down at the smashed table casually pretending that nothing happened.

"What's an Earth?" Nepgear asked confused.

"Hell if I know, hell if I care..."

Compa gathered up the plates and began washing them in the nearby kitchen.

"I'll get started shopping on for potions and whatnot..." IF walked out of the room, Nepgear following her to help.

(+_*_+)

"Code, are you awake in there?" IF knocked on the door, loud enough to wake me up. Walking over to the door, my eyes are blinded from the thick rays of sunlight pouring in. I open the door and Nepgear walked happily inside.

"Time to get going isn't it?" I asked wearily, barely even able to tote Grindrix around.

"Are you okay? You don't look to well." IF commented behind her.

"Energy Shot required for any further activity..." I moaned half asleep. IF sighed then dug around in her pockets. She pulled out a small vial of blue liquid then tossed it to me. I chugged the drink in micro-seconds, finishing the drink off then lazily plopping it in my pockets.

"Thanks, my respect level for you has risen." I noted with a cheeky smile.

"Yeah, yeah, be thankful cause I don't do that often." IF replied, walking off for the Basilicom. I locked the door behind me, then motioned for Nepgear to follow me as IF lead. As soon as we were in the sidewalk however, she walked right next to me.

"So you feel rested up and ready?" I asked.

"I'm about as good as I can be, if that's what you're asking. What about you?" asked IF.

"Tired. Worked hard last night finishing the mod on Grindrix." I admired silently the work I completed on my beloved blade. I could hear the spirit inside of it bounding with joy, happy not only with it's new form, but with how well it's been treated. Sadly though, I can't grant any real mystical powers to it unless I have a female partner to assist me and I couldn't ask Nepgear. Alas, I'm best with technological upgrades anyways. But just in case, I sneakily checked my intimacy level with Nepgear, seeing it to almost be high enough to my surprise.

"Huh. You really seem attached to that thing," IF commented.

"Its something very important to me. I might tell you someday."

"I suppose I'll just have to suffer not knowing til then, huh?"

I gave her a half-smile and said, "Suppose so." There was a bit of a silence between us for a while, IF mainly playing on her assortment of phones. From the looks of it, she was receiving massive amounts of info from something on those things. When she was free, I asked her, "You know, with all those phones going off so frequently, I'd assume you were an info broker."

"I don't blame you for thinking that, but these are mainly just texts from mobile gaming companies."

I was a bit surprised, but yet I wasn't. I asked her, "Just out of curiosity, did you know anything about the Sparkholder before we found it?"

"As much as it pains me to say this, I didn't."

"I can't help but wonder how this thing got so far from the core of Gamindustry."

IF chuckled and said, "Maybe it was the Sand Worms."

"I doubt it was that," I replied, wearing a half smirk.

"Do you have any better theories?"

"I don't really. It just seems so odd that the core just ejected that one part out arbitrarily."

"I couldn't say. At least, not yet."

The conversation ended at that little mystery. Before we knew it, we were at the Basilicom again. "Seems like it takes less and less time to get from my house to the Basilicom anymore." I noted, looking around to make sure time didn't fold or bend to our will.

"There weren't many events between getting from your house to the Basilicom, so of course it's going to be faster." IF bluntly noted, leaning on the fourth wall a little too much. We all ventured inside, smelling the lingering scent of recently eaten breakfast. I didn't hear the distant sound of Compa washing dishes strangely. Walking into the meeting room, I could feel a grimness in the air. Any joy, hope, or happiness fled from the grim idea of being sent to the Gamindustry Graveyard. Histoire examined us with a blackened look, worried much of Nepgear, who waited in the meeting room with us. Silently, I recalled the promise I made to Neptune, how I'd protect her sister no matter what. I'd never been in the Graveyard before, not once honestly, but whatever foes are in here, will never harm Nepgear, whether I die defending her or not. Compa, greeted by Nepgear and IF, walked to our group, happy to tag along as a much needed medic.

"Are you all ready?" Histoire asked, priming a white portal leading to the Graveyard. We all nodded and walked single-file into the white portal. I could feel my head spin backwards and my world spin forwards as I was whisked away. I started to feel nauseous, so close to throwing up that my face started turning a pale color. I couldn't see anyone around me, none of my party was in the vicinity at all. Finally, the light faded, dropping me on a red soiled plane of desolate rock and aged technology. Just looking around I could see abandoned video game consoles and monsters long since dead occupying the red planet.

"Is everyone okay?" IF asked looking around, as shaken as I was from the interdimensional travel. My head spun slowly, but eventually gained it's color and stability back.

"Oh my, you look awfully pale, Mr. Code! Here, let me treat that right quick." Compa cheerily offered. I fled backwards, putting my mind back in place to keep away from that pink-haired mad scientist...er...doctor.

"I'm fine! I swear, I'm A-OK!" I shouted, causing rocks to crumble right above my head. I held my hands over my head in a makeshift defense. I opened my eyes from their tight bonds, finding a dusty and battered colored sphere of technology in front of me.

"Hey, that looks like my old GameSphere I threw out years ago..." I thought aloud as I held up the old relic, examining it. It was essentially falling apart, but it was still nice to get to look back into the past. I tossed the machine aside then stood up, dusting my rear end off. I walked to IF and Nepgear, Nepgear standing with a spaced out and kind of worried look.

"Gear, what's wrong?" IF asked, trying to shake her loose from her 1000-yard stare. What Nepgear was actually seeing though was a spectral image of Neptune, blank look eyeing her with a lost soul. It was like her empty shell still roamed the land just because it had nowhere to go. IF and Compa couldn't see it, but I could. I believed it to be my bond with Neptune that let me see such a ghastly image. Nepgear shook her mind from the image, looking to IF, and back to Neptune only to find that she had vanished.

"Nothing's wrong, just fine. Sorry to worry you." She apologized.

"Keep your guard up kiddo, can't be spacing out mid-fight on us, we don't have any potions that can cure a case of the space-case." I noted to her.

"I think I have something for that back home, maybe I brought it with me," Compa dug in her medical bag she toted around with her that somehow magically appeared and disappeared like her weapon did.

"I was joking, Compa..." I moaned to see my somewhat-joke ruined. Luckily Compa was able to realize that it was a joke, putting her bag away in some mystical space that men apparently don't have access too. I didn't dare question where the portal to this mystical space was, but it likely wasn't anywhere clean.

Thousands of towering relics to gaming past littered our paths along with the many creatures slain in Gamindustry. I notice a dark blue worm of epic proportions sliding around up ahead. I wondered if we'd be able to sneak past it, but as soon as I even thought about that, it slithered rapidly to us.

"Get ready!" IF declared, letting her claws ease out of her sleeves. I primed Grindrix and Compa retrieved her excessively large syringe from her woman-space. Nepgear however, spaced out far ahead.

"Noire?" She whispered under her breath. The dark sandworm swiped it's spiked tail at her leg, tripping her and injuring her leg. I took off running, Grindrix scraping her heavy blade against the ground like a lagging tail. Leaping into the air, I slashed downwards onto it's spine. The creature howled in pain, but I would hear nothing of a plead for mercy.

"Get owned, noob!" I shouted in glee, efficiently slicing again into it's tail. Unfortunately, I had gotten too close and now it slammed it's tail against the floor, sending paralyzing shockwaves. I lost control of my body and stood out on the battlefield like a cold statue.

"Compa, take care of Code first, he's a sitting duck out there!" IF commanded. IF was the worm's next target, its teeth were bared just for her. IF jumped out of the way, but just barely. She was so close to being the worm's next meal that she could smell its very putrid breath. She swung and shredded the buried face of the worm, itself being distorted from bashing it's face into the floor.

"Here, this'll make you all better!" Compa injected me with a tension releasing serum. I could feel all the stiffness in my body vanish in an instant.

"Thank you!" I said. Free to fight now, I joined IF in slicing the massive worm to bits and pieces.

"Come here, let me heal that gash," Compa remedied Nepgear next.

"I'm so sorry. I really need to stop spacing out," Nepgear looked up to Compa with saddened eyes.

"I'm here to help Ge-Ge, you don't have to say sorry!" Compa finished briefly soaking her gash with a healing potion. Like magic, her wound was healed and she could join in the fight. Retrieving her sword from that strange hidden woman-space, she took up attacking the worms side. Even though there strangly wasn't a single gash or cut on it, it's HP continuously dropped. Waken from it's daze, it slashed a full 360 with it's tail, scooting IF and I aside and knocking Nepgear off her feet. Finding myself wary of being paralyzed again, I pressed Grindrix's transformation button and transformed her into Shredrix, shining and gleaming like a brand new rifle. I opened fire distantly, aiming with the gun held close to my face. Nepgear returned to fighting and with our combined power, we vanquished the enormous worm with ammo left to spare.

"I leveled up!" Nepgear cheered happily, viewing her increased stats via a hologram on her phone.

"Good job kiddo, now let's keep going." I suggested, transforming Shredrix again and walking with my party in tow. I noticed Nepgear spacing out again, distancing herself again.

"There's alotta history to some of these old things. I remember alot of these from years way back." I commented, walking closer to Nepgear. She snapped out of her daze luckily, or at least, she seemed like she was out of it. When I looked over my shoulder, I saw a young-looking girl in white garb. I could only assume it was another shade, lingering around because of Nepgear.

"I only know the ones from Planeptune. I recognize a couple of the gadgets that my sister used to bring home from Lastation though," Nepgear put on a fake smile, getting into the conversation as much as she can to avoid hinting her disturbed thoughts.

"I'm sure Planeptune has alot of history," I replied. I looked around, swearing that I heard a distant voice just a second ago, but saw no-one. I hoped I wasn't falling victim to this sudden spread of the 'space-case syndrome'.

"I don't know much about it, but I've seen books in Histoire's library showing pictures of them," Nepgear continued. Nepgear and I communicated happily while IF and Compa admired the joy I was bringing to Nepgear.

"You know, he may be one of the most rigid kids I've ever seen before, but I also haven't seen Nepgear this happy in years. I'm kinda glad to have him around," IF conversed with Compa, staying behind a little further to mask their conversations.

"I think Mr. Code might have a crush on Nepgear," Compa tried to keep her voice down. I could hear what she was saying but I pretended silently that I couldn't hear her.

"It's a good thing Neptune isn't around or that'd probably be impossible," IF commented. Both of our happy conversations were broken however as we came across a rather large pack of Fenrisilence, black manes of hair shifting in the red wind. They leapt about and circled us in an attempt of confusion. All four of us backed up into one another, weapons primed.

"IF, keep Compa safe, Nepgear and I will take offense," I commanded efficiently. The first Fenrisilence made a mighty leap at Compa. IF swung at it's jaw, knocking it back to the ground in defeat. In a rage, the wolfish creature howled a deafening sound. I couldn't hear anything at all. Going off basic hand signals, I signalled Nepgear to follow my lead. She understood to an extent, but I was sure someone as intellegent as her could understand what I was doing. I rushed forward to a wolf facing me, axe prepared to strike. It retaliated but I was prepared. As it tried to leap, I caught it's underbelly on the spear-like tip of Grindrix, keeping the black wolf lofted in the air.

"Go! Attack!" I shouted to no avail, no words exiting my mouth. Nepgear still understood though, running in, dodging under a couple nearby swipes in her direction. She easily cut apart the helpless wolf I held in the air. Two wolves, one to the left and right, charged with their teeth bared. I managed to insert my foot into the mouth of one, keeping it busy, and shoved the spear of Grindrix into the mouth of the other. While those two were still trying to close their mouths, Nepgear took a mighty swing at one, decapitating it and finishing it off wonderfully. She stopped dead again, staring off in the distance at a familiar face watching her closely. Another vision was far away in the eyes of Nepgear, and as I briefly looked up away from the Fenrisilence that was still trying to eat my foot, I could see the elegant looking woman. I stretched far, my arms reaching their limit as I tried to hit Nepgear's leg and shake her from her daze. Two more Fenrisilences started moving in and IF had her hands full protecting Compa. I thought as fast as I could and dug in my pocket, pulling out my old role of duct tape. I threw it and hit Nepgear square on the side of the head. She shot herself back to reality, then panicked when she saw that my foot was still being devoured and even being clawed at now.

"You wanna help?" I asked, actually hearing my voice now. I could hear the desolate blowing of the gentle wind, the growling mouths of the Fenrisilence, everything.

"I'm so so sorry!" Nepgear quickly severed the spine of the creature, killing it with one blow. I tried to stand up but quickly fell back down, my foot in too much pain to move. I poured a solvent on it and healed it up. Luckily I only needed a little of the solvent, far be it for me to waste the stuff.

"We'll talk about it later, just help take these things out!" I shouted, punting another wolf to the side, smacking it hard into a rocky wall. My head turned right around to the side to see Nepgear holding off an attacker with both hands on her sword. I looked behind her to see a nice enviromental hazard to help take out the problem. I chucked my axe like a boomerang and sliced the hinge on a massive rusted disc tray attached to one of the overgrown relics to gaming history. The old tray fell off and crushed the wolf, but leaving Nepgear unharmed. She crawled out from under it, sword in hand, then moved over to help IF kill the last remaining attackers. I rushed over to retrieve Grindrix then selected one of my favorite skills.

"Everyone, move out of the way!" I commanded, taking the spotlight and a few kills. I sprung up in the air, hitting one of Grindrix's buttons and throwing her to the floor.

"Grriiiiiiiind!" I laughed maniacally as Grindrix chopped flesh and bone with it's over grown axe, spinning like a turbine. The last of our foes were dead and Compa and IF were already looting their bodies. Grindrix settled down and I picked her up, wiping her blade off with my hoodie.

"Was the manical laughing really necessary?" IF asked.

"Maniacal laughing is never necessary, but that doesn't stop me from doing it." I said with a smile.

"Have we seen these monsters before? I don't remember them," Compa asked, breaking apart any building tension.

"I've never seen these before. They're not like any creature's we've seen here or...well...anywhere," Nepgear examined one of the bodies that hadn't disappeared yet. It had the same character mold as other Fenrises but it had new abilities. I've never seen anything like them anywhere at all, not even in some of the folklore passed down.

"Maybe they've pokevolved?" Compa theorized.

"Nah, otherwise they would've at least changed character models," IF pointed out. Her and Compa finished gathering up much-needed potions and we moved on to a not-too-far-away statue of a rusty and aged joystick that stuck out like a sore...joystick...

"It's about damn time! I've been waiting ages in this lobby for you!" A brutish voice announced.

"Who the hell are you?" IF asked. I recognized that green and black ninja suit easily. But he was absurdly buff to the point of tearing his clothes and his sword turned from a katana into a grand broadsword.

"That's one of my opponants. One that died a day ago when the Coliseum was attacked," I stated grimly.

"That's right, noob! Now it's time to finish the fight! And all of your friends will get to die with you!" He cockily blurted out, charging headlong to us. I sidestepped out of the brutes way, briefly feeling a strange aura of energy around him. I quickly glanced at the end of his green bandana, seeing the Spark Core hanging like a decoration. I didn't need to do any research or look at the item any further to know it was exactly what we were looking for.

"He's got the Spark Core! Attack!" IF and I said aloud together. I immediately started swiping my axe at his legs, ducking and dodging a deadly dance under his stomping feet.

"Hold still you little bastard!" Raiden shouted, his rage rising. He slammed his broadsword down on the ground, shattering and shaking the earth enough to send me to the ground. I rolled out of the way of a stomping foot only to have his other free fist slam down on my leg. IF joined in the fight against the behemoth, slicing at his arms as they swung his sword around. Nepgear, scared and confused, remembering her fear at the Coliseum thanks to this reminiscent foe.

"Come on Ge-Ge, fight! You can do it!" Compa cheered her on. I still rolled about on the floor to dodge Raiden's frequent attacks. He slammed his fist on my shoulder next, shattering bone and tendon, making me scream in fury. I had enough AP and hopefully enough HP to perform my Combo Breaker. I leapt up to my feet and circled around Raiden to confuse him. I rolled far away from him, towards the joystick statue, then tossed Grindrix in the air. Raiden was too distracted by IF and Nepgear to notice me preparing for my attack. Just as the tip of my axe's shaft was in position, I kicked mightily, shooting the axe completely through his hip, leaving a full hole in him.

He prattled on with his competitive fury, spitting curses and blood from his mouth. He noticed me now, ignoring everyone but me. He charged head on at a lightning speed, sword raised like a barbarian. My eyes widened and I rolled out of the way. I looked around to see if I could find Grindrix, but I couldn't pick her grey blade out of the grey colored rocks making a sort of arena around the joystick statue. I looked back to Raiden only to see his raised hand aimed at me. I felt wind rush past my face and saw bits and pieces of my scattered life shown before me as I collided with the rocky walls, my vision fading to black.

"Compa! Revive him!" IF instructed. Nepgear still whimpered around, not contributing at the least until she saw me flying into the wall. I wasn't dead yet, but my vision was blurred

"I can't...I can't let this happen. I won't let any more of my friends get hurt!" Nepgear gained her fight back, eager to slay finally.

"There we go, Gear, get pumped up!" IF encouraged, rushing to Raiden to continue cleaving her claws into his thick skin. From what her scans could indicate, he was only half dead, but channeling into deep AP reserves. A flash of bright light came and went, revealing Lady Purple Heart ready to fight, sniper-blade ready for action.

"I won't let you hurt anyone else!" She shouted in fury, achieving a brutal rage. She executed her Celestial Severance, blasting again and again into the defenseless brute.

"You go Gear!" IF cheered. Raiden, finally released from the death-grip of Nepgear's power, slammed to the floor dead. The red dirt around him scattered as his massive body smacked the ground.

Compa tried to use a revive on me, but it wouldn't work seeing that I wasn't actually dead. She switched tactics, using the best healing spell she could muster. I raised up, head confused and disoriented from being tossed around like a ragdoll. I could taste chunks of rock in my mouth and the dim red soil hurt my eyes to look at. Compa smiled then rushed back over to Nepgear and IF.

"Thanks," I sighed, rushing lopsided over to Raiden only to find him dead already. Nepgear fell to her knees, looking ahead again with a thousand-yard stare. Neptune stood before her, smiling.

"You make me proud so much anymore. Keep going, sis," Neptune disappeared, her spirit and final wishes channeling into Nepgear's blade. It glowed with the same blue power that radiated from the Sparkholder. The Sparkholder could be fixed now, but poor Nepgear, she was far broken. Tears poured from her eyes, her cheeks red as she cried. I wanted to say something, to hold onto her and comfort her, but that was her friends' job, not mine. IF and Compa kneeled down and comforted her, letting her cry out all her pain.

"This angel inside, she still stays within me. She gives me bright wings to fly with and a light to hold onto. I'll love my angel forever and let her show me better times. Act with the will of the angel within, I am now that of the angel inside..."

Nepgear looked up to me, tears falling like a summer rain.

"Remember that kiddo, anytime you feel sad or lonely or if you just miss your sister, just remember that verse. It's something I've used many times to bring myself up, and I want you to do the same," I said quietly as I looked down to her. Spontaneously, she leapt onto me, holding on and crying even harder. I eased out of my shell if not for a moment to hold onto her. "It's gonna be alright, I promise," I comforted her the best I could.

"May...may I...may I call you my...brother?" She stuttered, shocking me to a new level. The sacred CPU of Planeptune just asked me if she could call me her brother.

"You think I'm gonna say no, silly?" I smiled to her.

"Thank you," She finished, venting alot of much needed stress.

"You're quite welcome. I'll be your family from now on, I wont ever let you down. I swear," I finished, letting Nepgear stand on her own as I let go. She nodded and smiled, ready to depart.

"Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something?" I asked myself constantly. There were a few things honestly that I was forgetting.

"Oh yeah. Miss N-" I stopped myself, smiling and correcting myself, "Sis, would you mind plucking the Spark Core from the dead body? I need to go find Grindrix, I'm sure she's getting cold sitting on the floor," I noted, walking over to where I think I threw Grindrix. Nepgear smiled and even chuckled a little to hear me call her sis, doing as I asked and retrieving the much needed part. I finally picked out where my axe awaited and picked her back up. I heaved her over my shoulder and moved back to IF and Compa. Nepgear soon returned with the Spark Core, glowing with a blue energy. I retrieved it from her and stored it inside my deep pockets.

"Now that we have what we need, how do we get out of here?" I questioned, looking around the six different paths we could've taken. They all looked the same, making it hard to tell where to backtrack.

"Simple. You don't," A voice chimed behind us. I looked back to see who spoke, finding a trio of strange looking people walking toward us. One of them had a adamant clip-fed crossbow, decorated in strange designs and had a long scope on it. He was in a sort of soldier's outfit, he looked like a war veteran or something. Another had a pair of SMGs with buzzsaw bayonets. He had on a very thick plated series of black armor sections. His upper arms were the only thing exposed, even his face was covered in unique plate armor. The last one, what I assumed was the leader, carried around a shotgun, decorated in metallic mechanisms. His armor was an olive green, covering his whole body, save for his head. He looked like something off that Hoop: Reach game honestly. Made me wonder if these were just a bunch of cosplaying wanna-bes.

"Who are you?" I asked bluntly as they neared us.

"WE are the best clan in all of Gamindustry, the Faithbreakers!" The leader announced in pride.

"We're the highest ranking clan recorded," The crossbow soldier quietly announced with a thick brutish voice that had a hint of an accent.

"4nd w3 4r3 s0 g0nn4 k1ck ur a55!" The third one spoke in some strange language I couldn't really make out.

"You three look like a bunch of dorky fanboys. How about you all just get back to your gaming conventions before you embarrass yourselves anymore," IF bluntly took the words right out of my mouth.

"Hey, don't even think about making fun of us, we're so much higher rank than you are," The brutish soldier shot back at IF.

"Higher rank in what!" IF asked. Her rage was already boiling high, as was mine. I hated bragarts and cockyness with a passion.

"In life." The soldier absurdly continued.

"Come on guys, let's go." I motioned to walk past the group standing before us. I stepped towards the strange speaking one and as soon as I was in range, he revved up one of his buzzsaws and held it out to stop me.

"Get your toy away from me," I commanded, booming my voice louder than his saws.

"wh0 73h h311 d0 y0u th1nk u n00bs r? d0 u kn0 wh0 w3 r?" He shot back at me, revving his saw faster. I stepped back to my party, all of us except for Compa had a rival in their little 'clan'.

"Is there something you want? If not, would you please move out of the way?" Nepgear said, attempting a politness that was useless in this scenario.

"Not so fast, you twig of a girl. You're gonna face us, here and now." The leader boasted his shotgun proudly, cocking it with an empty shell flying out of it.

"Who the hell are you posers?" I asked, my anger rising fast.

"I'm Headshot. The one on my left with the crossbow is Overdrive, and the one on my right with the SMGs is Overkill. We are the Faithbreakers, and we are here to shatter the faith you have in your twig of a CPU!" He aimed his shotgun at Nepgear. In a fit of rage, I basically teleported right in front of Headshot, my axe held close to throat.

"You even think about harming her and I will personally open your skull and rip out your tiny brains." I growled with a distorted beast-like voice.

"7h0s3 4r3 f1gh71ng w0rd5! l375 k1ck 7h31r n00by 455!" Overkill revved his buzzsaws more and more, becoming a nuisance.

"If you want to protect your frail goddess, fight us! Go ahead, let's watch you get your asses handed to you." Headshot pushed his luck past it's boundaries. He begged for death now, as did his sickening little buddies. I slit my axe across his throat, but strangely tearing no flesh or bone. He grabbed onto Grindrix and forced her out of my hand, tossing her off to the side. Enraged, I swerved to face his back without him even so much as seeing me. I forced up one of Headshot's arms, stationed my foot in front of his, then pushed, slamming his face into the dirt. IF and Nepgear, shocked, aimed to keep the other two busy while I dismantled their cocky little leader.

"Eat it bitch!" I thundered in a fit, slamming his head into the dirt again then running off to retrieve Grindrix. A volley of bullets aimed at my feet made me dance while I ran. Overkill distantly reloaded with an amazing speed, then revved up his buzzsaws as he closed in for the kill. I leaped into a roll towards Grindrix, gripping her cold shaft and holding her up behind me. Overkill pushed and pushed his saws closer to me, scratching the steel of my shaft. He pulled the triggers and unleashed a hellfire of stinging pain into my shoulders. I had to think fast. I grabbed ahold of Grindrix then slid under Overkill's legs, socking him good in his crotch.

"l177l3 b4574rd! 1m gunn4 0v3rk1ll u 4 7ha7!" He shouted in rage.

"I think not." I coldly shot back. I slashed down on his shoulder, spilling his thick blood that melded in with the red soil. He fought through his profound bleeding to smack me upside the head with the side of his gun. For a while, we danced in a flurry of bullets and blades, matched in speed and power.

"Let's see your so-called rank defend against this!" IF shot her blades in thick strokes against the thin armor of Overdrive. He flashed blue as he struck, gaining enough AP to perform his signature move. He vanished into thin air and reappeared stooped up high on a rocky cliff. Laying down in a sniper-like pose, he took pot-shots off with his crossbow, making IF dodge and duck as she ran towards the rock wall. She climbed up with her claws digging furiously into the wall. Her claw dug into a loose rock and away it went down into the distant floor. She focused directly upwards toward Overdrive, staring down at her with his metallic crossbow. Climbing and jumping about, she had her hands full trying to get up to him.

"Why are you doing this? Is there any point to this fight?" Nepgear asked as she clashed with Headshot.

"We're the best there ever was! And we'll prove it by killing the goddesses themselves! Prepare to get owned, noob!" His shotgun glowed at the tip as he triggered one of his abilities. He shot his payload of shells in the air, making it rain red-hot shrapnel. In stinging agony, Nepgear fought past the pain and slashed at his vulnerable waist. He felt the sting of laser plasma charring flesh and tendon.

Shouting in a curse-laden tongue, he agged on his inglorious pain, making it known to half of Gamindustry that he was pissed. Headshot raised his gun again and fired a molten shell of heat that Nepgear ducked under. Compa, standing behind and supplying medical attention as needed, was struck hard by the magma shell.

"Oww! Meanie!" Compa switched a dial on her overgrown syringe, changing the solution from a healing potion to a melting acid. She sprayed a constant stream on him and his gun. His shields finally faded, leaving him open to any damage Nepgear could dish out in that time. Compa switched her dial again, preparing a healing potion to help Nepgear. She focused fire on her, the solvent from her syringe healing her instantly. Nepgear, getting the last strike, knocked Headshot's rifle away from him. He attempted CQC but failed miserably. Nepgear, losing her patience, slashed a hideous scar into his cheek, leaving him in tears now. Meanwhile I was finishing off Overkill with style, wearing him down with my high endurance level. He shot his last volley of bullets at me and was cornered into a rocky wall.

"1m 0u7! Cr4p, 1m 0u7!" He panicked. I swatted his toys away from him then speared his stomach with Grindrix's head spike, lifting him off the ground. His armor was charred, scratched, and demolished. His guns were out of ammo and he was being hung out to dry.

"You think you're so high and mighty don't you? Churning out trash-talk in your fancy language make you feel a little better than the crap you give others?" I questioned his motives while he was panicked.

"57up1d n00b5! u d0n7 n0 4 d4mn th1n6! 5hu7 73h h311 up!" He started screaming in a high pitched noise that sounded like a highly pissed off five-year-old. I was highly tempted in brutally excecuting the welp just to shut him up, but he isn't even worth the energy. Still attached to Grindrix, I flung him off to the right, ironically landing him right next to his crappy leader Headshot. I walked back, clutching wounds that still bled.

"Oh my! I'm sorry I didn't get to you sooner, here, this'll help," Compa drenched my wounds, and clothes, in potion, healing me up and putting me back to par. I noticed IF having some trouble pulling down Overdrive, so I lended a helping hand, summoning Shredrix with the touch of a button. I kept the sniper busy with constant fire hitting and richocheting around him.

"Dammit! Stupid noob, cut it out!" He shouted angrily. IF finally reached him, and by the time Overdrive noticed, she already had a claw latched on the back of his head. She yanked hard and pulled him off the cliff, completing the trio of fallen comrads. IF climbed back down quickly to enjoy ridiculing the cocky 'clan'.

"Ouchies, he's gonna have a big bump on his noggin!" Compa noted, looking down at Overdrive as he tried to recollect his thoughts.

"My K/D...not my K/D...don't end that..." He mumbled under his breath.

"Oh yeah! Look who got-" IF started. I interrupted her by thrusting my axe before her face.

"We don't like being taunted, let's not do it to them. They aren't worth our words anyways." I instructed with a grim tone.

"We'll get better, just you wait! You hear that you noobs!" Headshot shouted, still trying to get up. We walked on, ignoring them.

"Are you sure we shouldn't help them? They're still humans, just like us." Compa tried to reason.

"They brought their pain to themselves, it's their problem for acting inhumane with their cocky attitudes." I shot back, feeling absolutely no sympathy for the delinquents.

"I suppose that's kinda true. As my grandpa said, 'you reap what you sew'," Compa finished, looking back one last time to see them arguing amongst each other, exploiting each others faults. They shouted loud enough for Celestia itself to hear them.

"At least we have the Spark Core now," Nepgear noted as she held the Sparkholder close to her heart.

"And that brings us one step closer to putting Gamindustry back together," IF noted. Indeed, we were closer, but our journey only started. We still had three Sparks to collect and with Gamindustry the way it is, the world was so much bigger. We'll have the Trickstar to voyage through, the Phantom Valley, Ruination, Bulletheaven, Speed Haven, and so many more land to venture through, not to mention that we didn't even have a single idea as to where the Sparks are. Our only real hope was that the other cities scattered around might have something to tell us. But at the moment, we needed to get back to the Basilicom to let Histoire know that our mission was a success...


	6. Men Are But Flesh And Blood

It took us about an hour after defeating the Faithbreakers to figure out how to exit the Graveyard. It turned out there was a return feature on our HUDs that Histoire failed to mention. We spawned back near the gates to Planeptune, but it wasn't too far a walk to the Basilicom. Nepgear looked like she was in better condition, conversing happily with Compa and IF. I led the pack silently through the still-busy streets of Planeptune, quiet but with my eye on the group. Again and again I had to growl at passers-by that had their noses shoved so far into their games that they couldn't watch where they were going. The Basilicom, empty and hallow as usual, greeted us warmly, sunlight pounding it's walls but never penetrating. The doors creaked open, greeting us with the usual gust of warm air. Histoire neared us with a grim and pale expression.

"We've got the Spark Core now, but I don't think that news is going to cheer you up any," I remarked, displaying the glowing Sparkholder.

"I'm glad to see you all arrived safely, but," Histoire started with a shaken voice.

"Histy, what's wrong? Why do you look like a ghost or something?" Compa asked.

"Earlier, there was a massive strike from two groups of monsters here in Planeptune. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but people helping fight back are neglecting to save people and property. It got so bad after the monsters were gone that I had to break up a few fights, one of which escalated to the point that I had to have him jailed. I believe that something that happened in the Graveyard has triggered another spike in competitive violence," Histoire finished her sorrowful news report. I expected no less honestly, but Nepgear and the others were in shock.

"Is it really that bad now?" IF asked. Histoire nodded and motioned for everyone to follow and meet in the dimly lit meeting room. I sat down on the cold chair further away from the others, laying Grindrix on the table carefully, not saying a word to the others in the grim space.

"We have to push our operation into full speed now. This situation is out of control and it seems that only you all have the experience needed to attempt fixing it. None of the other nations are responding to our distress calls, leaving me to send you all out," Histoire said, her voice amplified in the large chamber.

"We've worked on this kind of stuff before, I'm sure we could do it again," IF remarked, refusing to let go of her can-do attitude. "Plus all of us, well save for Code, are leveled up enough from the last adventure," She continued.

I was actually higher level than the four of them, but level doesn't matter. I wasn't planning on dying in the field.

"Question is though, where are we going to start at this time? The whole wide world is different now!" Compa made a valid point.

"I have a little experience around the satellite countries of Planeptune so I think I can get us over to Lastation. I think that would be the best place to go for now," IF proclaimed, wearing a slight smirk on her pale face.

"Why not start at Leanbox or Lowee?" I asked.

"I don't know the ways to either and I don't think anyone at Planeptune knows either. We'll have better luck learning at Lastation anyways. Their Oracle specializes in information," IF finished.

"How do we get to Lastation then?" Nepgear asked. I could tell she was getting nervous again, but I didn't know what to say to get her calm again. I hoped that her nervousness wouldn't inflict on her fighting ability.

"First we'll need to go west through Trickstar. The path's pretty easy, it's alot of forest and jungle. Past that we'll need to get through Speed Haven, hopefully the natives there still remember me. From there it's a clear shot into Lastation," IF explained. Again she pulled out one of her phones and tapped on it rapidly.

"I wish you all luck on your journey. But before you depart, since it's getting late, I suggest everyone get plenty of sleep for tomorrow," Histoire suggested.

"Agreed. Everyone, dismissed," IF left the room, followed by Nepgear and Compa. I neared the door but was stopped by Histoire.

"Yes?" I asked as I watched her shut the door.

"I've finished early, researching about your parents. Would you like me to tell you their fates?" Histoire maintained her grim expression.

I already could tell that this was going to bother me, but one less mystery in my mind wouldn't hurt. "Yes, tell me."

"They took off when you were around 6-7 years of age , giving you the house you live in. After that, they took off through Castlescape and to the Ocean Ruin, presumably on a business trip. That being said, they were lost at sea," She grimly explained. Still wearing a grim expression, I listened closely without a word said. "Shall I continue?"

"No," I whispered. I figured as much, they abandoned me so that they could go run off and have their adventures. I kept quiet as my thoughts rushed around my head.

"I hope that wasn't too pressuring for you," Histoire apologized in her own unique way.

"It's fine, you've done nothing wrong. Thank you very much for telling me," I walked to the doorway, exiting and leaving for my home. I said nothing to anyone, thinking to myself. I could see Compa preparing to walk towards me before IF stopped her.

"Leave him be," IF told her as she backed off. Compa was worried but went about preparing for tomorrow. Nepgear wasn't anywhere that I knew of, luckily. I knew if she would've saw me in such a depressed state, she would've gave me cake and grief counseling, or something like that. The walk back to my house was far far from peaceful. I was almost mugged by a sly pickpocket. I threatened to slice him in half and he backed off. I could hear in the distance, a group of people arguing and brawling in the streets, smacking each other with a multitude of objects. I didn't feel like checking it out, so I kept my eyes on my simple route home.

"What exactly were they going to accomplish? Leaving me at home all by myself, what did they seek to accomplish?" I asked myself over and over again, sometimes within my mind, sometimes aloud. I layed my open hand on my door's handscanner, letting it read and recognize. It clicked and opened, shutting behind me as I entered. I needed to get my mind off the more pressing manners, so to my workshop I went. I wandered about the rummage and dust in my head, searching for something to work on, an idea or something. Finally, I remembered about my communications array that I was going to work on for IF, Compa, and Nepgear. I looked around for my headset cases, finding a trio of colored plastic shells ready for electronics to be added inside them. The one ear Redtooth headsets would be perfect for syncing with my headset. I dug out the headset I was given many years ago, ready to modify it to work with the other headsets. I knew I wouldn't be leaving on my adventure without it. My night, my long restless night of thought and function, belonged to selfless work.

(+_*_+)

"What do I do, Neptune? How do I do this without you being around?" Nepgear asked herself again and again. Her sorrow turned to guilt over her sister's death. What happened at the graveyard still unsettled her. She turned and tossed in her bed, unable to sleep. In the deep darkness of the night, she could hear whispers of her sister. Memories of her cheerful delight haunted her.

"Whatcha wanna do, lil sis?" Neptune's hushed voice rang in her ears. It was like Neptune's ghost was secretly blaming Nepgear for what happened. Occasionally Nepgear would shed a tear as she tried so much to go to sleep. Her eyes slowly became heavy enough to pull herself to sleep. A hand jolted her to the side, trying to wake her, but when she turned on her bedside lamp, nobody was there. Nepgear began to shiver, finding it even harder now to get back to sleep. If anyone knew of her silent troubles, she would cause problems for everyone, and that'd be something she couldn't forgive herself for...

(+_*_+)

"Die dammit!" IF shouted as she cut apart another Wrockweiller. They weren't easy foes, but she needed money if she was going to fund her party's adventure. She sliced another attacker apart and finally it dropped the Crystal Brain that she sought. IF snickered to herself as she observed the shiny crystal in her hand. She was tempted to stay a little longer, but in the distance she could hear shifting feet and a gun clicking as it was being reloaded. IF fled to the shadows, leaping and bounding over hazards as she exited the ruins that she wandered around in. She had no desire for a rival fight, she had a party to care for...

(+_*_+)

"Well, is everyone good?" I asked looking around at my party. We assembled at the Basilicom to say goodbye to Histoire before we departed. The trio behind me all nodded with their inventories stacked with much needed provisions for our trip. I had Grindrix resting happily on my shoulder. I gripped her handle and she glowed green for a moment, letting me know that she was happy and content.

"Goodbye everyone, and the safest of journeys for you all." Histoire waved goodbye as we departed. The sun was shining, the warm wind had the smell of fragrant grass, and the residents of this Planeptune walked about with self-justified smirks, communicating in an ever-vibrant city of gleaming iron.

"Okay, so we'll want to go through the marketplace then right once we hit the arena." IF read instructions given to her by a friend. Of course, in order for IF to read it properly it had to be input into her phone. It also didn't help that she was leading the pack through a crowd of people paying about as much attention to her as she was to them. I looked about to see the stores jammed packed with people shopping for sales on the latest games and consoles. Looming over one of the stores was the large TV that displayed a news report of the accustomed grimness.

"Today we feature a panicked Lastation, backed up into it's Final Stand. After it's loss of troops in Ruination and internal fighting in the city, Lastation is scrapping vital buildings in an attempt to counter an immediate threat emerging from the south," The announcer firmly stated. I tapped Nepgear's arm and pointed up to the TV, letting her see just what's going on.

"Lastation has lost most of its surrounding cities, and with it being in Last Stand, there's a high chance that Lastation could be no more here soon. Even the CPU, Uni, worries about her nation's fate." The announcer finished, ending the informative report.

"That's horrible! Uni is a good friend, we have to go help her!" Nepgear exclaimed.

I didn't have that much interest in Lastation, especially considering their lack of security. It was harsh to say, but their lack of proper security countermeasures entailed such a crisis. "I assume you're acquainted with Uni then?" I asked, looking over to her.

IF laughed aloud and said, "Friends? More like rivals."

"What the goodness..." Nepgear sighed.

"Don't let it get to ya Ge-Ge, we'll go help Uni," Compa assured Nepgear. The trip through the market was hard, with everyone shoving us around and IF constantly playing with her phone, we had troubles but finally made it to the arena where we turned right as needed. Up ahead, I saw a familiar face ready to make the last moments in Planeptune hellish.

"Noob," The grisly nerd approached me with crossed arms. He wore a T-shirt that looked to be one size too small cause I could see a little bit of his putrid belly poking out from it. Other than that he looked alot like me, shoulder-length brown hair, green eyes, surprisingly a lot for two personalities that were far apart.

"Noob," I shot back at him in disgust.

"Nou, you teh noob," He returned.

"Dude, what's your problem? Why the hell do you still call me a noob if I've been participating at the Coliseum longer than you've been working there?" I asked, angrily questioning him.

"Cause if I wanted to, I could so easily kick your ass. You're a noob, you don't even belong to a clan, your rank is like uber low, and not to mention your choice in clothing," He belted out, shocking me.

"Hey, be nice to Mr. Code! He's really really nice!" Compa shot at him

"Nice won't get you very far," He replied.

"Whether he's nice or not, he's got more than enough power to put you down." IF defended my case as well.

With a scoff, he continued, "Yeah, right, I'd like to see him-"

I shot out my axe right next to his neck, startling a few bystanders around us. "You had better clean up your act and fast kid, you're cockiness will get you killed in the real world. There's more to life than competition, lowlife, get it together and grow the hell up," I thundered at him loud enough to shake the nearby windows of a store.

IF forced down my axe, looking at me with a hardened gaze and said, "Don't kill him. He's not worth the trouble."

I wasn't going to argue with her. Letting my rage die down quickly, I slung Grindrix over my shoulder and pressed her hidden button, summoning Shredrix. I moved her around, pivoting on my shoulder, then took a few potshots at his back as he walked away.

"Oops, looks like I hit a noob," I commented walking away. IF chuckled and I reverted Shredrix back.

"You okay there?" I asked Nepgear who remained quiet this whole time. She looked up at me, broken from her gaze. I'd noticed that she'd been out of it all day today.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm okay. So why does he hate you so much?" Nepgear asked.

"I couldn't tell you, he's either just a natural asshole or competition is really messing people up these days." I said, looking back again to the cocky kid. He was bleeding and limping and looked like he was really pissed off. Like I cared though, serves him right. Nepgear nodded for some reason then continued walking beside me. She seemed extra clingy too, never straying more than a step away from me.

"Come on, talk to me. What's wrong?" I asked her.

She gave a grim expression, staring down at the ground then looking back up and saying, "Neptune's been around, or her ghost or something like that. I couldn't get any sleep last night," She whispered to me.

"That's strange." I said in confusion. I believed in the supernatural, but what Nepgear was experiencing didn't sound like any sort of haunting. It sounded like her mind was playing tricks on her.

"I don't really get it, but it really makes me miss her," Nepgear tilted her head to the sky, watching the clouds pass by.

"Well, your brother's here if you need me. If there's anything you need Miss Nepgear, let me know. I'm here for a reason after all," I offered solemnly.

Nepgear smiled and said, "I know, thank you."

"Dammit, looks like they're doing construction on the road ahead..." IF said. The road ahead was littered with yellow machinery and construction mechs, all rusted to a perfect working order. Workers moved around shifting dull, metallic gear and turning on generators and other needed equipment. One man entered a mech-suit, equipped with two large shovels where the hands should be.

"It doesn't look like anything's wrong with the road ahead. It looks like just a forest path." I stated. Normally if there's any construction going on to expand the city, they'd at least clear the forest out. The mech walked forward cautiously, moving it's mechanical torso around anxiously. A tree branch swung at him with killer furiosity. The tree revealed itself to be alive and ready to expel the intruder to it's home.

"It-it's alive!" Nepgear exclaimed, watching the whole forest transform into an forest-like gauntlet. A tree to our left grew mangled arms of branch and swung at us. I rolled out of the way but Compa got knocked on her feet.

"I've got this!" IF exclaimed with her claws out. She sliced at it's thick bark, making the tree laugh until it realized that IF had dealt fire elemental damage. IF jumped back and started firing incidiary rounds at it. Shrieking from a bark-covered face, it burned into ashes, somehow not igniting the other trees that posed no threat.

"An apple a day keeps the doc away," Compa mumbled in confusion.

I helped her back up to her feet, chuckling and saying, "I don't think you're gonna want any apples from these trees."

"Looks like we're going for a forest hike." IF declared, walking into the depths of a deep forest to our right.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Nepgear asked with a shaky voice.

"Come on Gear, don't you like adventure anymore?" IF asked, picking up a nearby stick and walking along with it like it was a cane. With her leafy bow, stick cane, and all-out rough looking appearance, she looked like she was native to the forested lands.

Nepgear smiled and shrugged, saying "Some exercise wouldn't hurt I guess."

I looked about the thick forests for any sign of resistance from our favorite woodland murderers. All I found though was thick forests, a ceiling of green leaves that shadowed the path, and the occasional scurrying creature. It was rather peaceful out in these thicker woods. The farther we got from Planeptune's occasional noises of the future, the more peaceful it became. You could smell nearby streams of water as we headed down a steep dirt path going down.

"It's so nice out here," Nepgear commented as she looked about happily. Inside I smiled to see her able to relax. I felt relaxed too, like in the depths of these wooded lands, I could truly be at ease. Compa pointed out occasional herbs and fruits we could save for later. She found some more of that Pumpa Fruit that Nepgear found in the ruins. I wondered what it was exactly, it looked like the blend of a peach and an apple. In the distance of the Pumpa bushes, I could see an odd orange creature dining on them happily. It slurped them up one by one, walking like a human. The thing was strange, where it found a pair of shoes and ripped jean-shorts, I'll never know.

"They always come to me, I wonder why." Nepgear pointed out as she walked beside me with a elegant looking bird perched on her finger. It sang a four note melody to her then flew off. I never would think of Nepgear to be much of a nature person, but far be it for me to judge.

"I always scared off creatures that were easily intimidated, but those that weren't would sometimes come to me," I told Nepgear.

"Well, you're a very nice person Ge-Ge, of course they'll come to you." Compa added in from behind us. Nepgear smiled to her and I.

"I think Iffy's got the same problem," Compa teased.

"If by creatures, you mean people, then yes," replied IF.

Nepgear, speaking up with a stronger voice, asked, "Did you ever have a pet?"

"I had a pet bloodhawk until that famous hunter, Cabella, shot her down," I said.

"I remember her. Didn't she get arrested for poaching?" asked IF.

Wearing a sour smile, I said, "Yes. It was for hunting bloodhawks. Specifically mine. Bitch had it coming."

"We've got a problem, looks like it's time for some platformer action." IF commented. She had no problem leaping up with mighty bounds up a collosal cliff. The cliff had strangely level jumping platforms, making it easy but still tricky to traverse. I kept up with IF, jumping around and flying across vine-strewn chasms. But Compa had issues with her mobility. Nepgear stayed behind to help her navigate. As we moved further up the cliff, the terrain to the sides climbed with us. Finally reaching the top, midday sun beating down on us, the forest grew into a thick jungle with strange wildlife keeping the even stranger plantlife company. There was anything to insect-like creatures with strange glowing orange spots on them to monkeys wearing some kind of strange helmets with flashing lights. It took a few minutes, but Nepgear and Compa caught up with us. They claimed neither of them were good at double jumping, but I had the feeling people of their status would know that trick by heart. Far be it for me to judge though.

"This place is alot different then the last time I was here," IF stated. I've never been beyond city limits so I wouldn't know. A lot of the surrounding environment didn't look like it was even charted yet for maps.

"Why do all the little monkeys have those weird bicycle helmets on?" Compa asked, daring herself to near one of the apes.

"I don't know, but if I were you, I wouldn't run around pissing any of them off," I replied. Normally, I hate making guesses, but this is what it's gonna take to get an airhead nurse like her to not bother the little critters. As far as the lava-creature-things with orange spots, I couldn't make heads or tails as to what they were. They looked like they were fresh out of a volcano though. I wasn't about to piss one of those things off either, could be poisonous.

"Let's keep moving, and watch what you touch," IF informed, leading us through the thickening jungle. The path we took weaved through mysterious looking trees of green and red, some bearing vivid fruits and some holstering cocoons. A pair of those weird monkeys played off in the distance, bantering in their primitive language. Our troop came near them as we passed and when they caught a glimpse of us, the little lights dotting their helmets turned a bright yellow. I backed off and took Nepgear and Compa with me. It grunted a couple times and started walking slowly towards us. I didn't want to find out what happened if they attacked, but the little brown monkey had it's eyes trained on us like we were food.

"Keep your distance, keep your distance," I quietly advised Nepgear and Compa. We backed away a little more to the side. Finally, the critter cut off pursuit and it's light turned blue again.

"So do you know exactly where we're going?" I asked to IF, who had been trying to play with her phone. I doubted that she would be getting signal for it anytime soon.

"We need to get to the River of Ghosts, then we head south to the Choozing Ruins," IF explained.

"Hey, wait up please!" Compa shouted from the back. I looked back to see her nearing a small lava-creature-thingy.

"Hold still, Mr. Lava-Creature-Thingy, I'll heal you." Compa neared the thing. It looked about with it's eyeless shell-like head, twitching antennae that had strange orange bulbs on them. As Compa neared it with a potion of healing solvent, the thing hissed and dashed off like a roach.

"Compa, quit pissing off the natives!" IF scolded.

Compa pouted and said, "He looked like he was hurt!"

"Whether he was hurt or not, we can't waste supplies on-" I started, interrupted by a thundering step that shook the earth. A deep roar penetrated every tree and leaf. In the distance, a large salamander looking creature with no eyes and four legs edged toward us. It was nearly the size of a house and it's black rocky feet trampled dozens of helpless plants as it barreled toward us.

"Everybody run!" I shouted dashing off ahead. IF followed me, along with Nepgear then Compa. We were forced to leap and dodge across the spanning jungle. Creatures ahead trembled and ran at the sight of the monster behind us.

"Why don't we just kill the thing?" IF shouted, ducking under a low branch.

"How in the hell do you propose we do that? It's made out of solid rock!" I shot back rolling under a fallen branch.

"What about the orange spots? Are those weak points?" Nepgear proposed. Compa behind her tripped over a fallen branch, shouting and holding her leg. She didn't even notice the creature chasing us was now raised up on it's hind legs, ready to smash her into oblivion. IF took Nepgear's advice and tested the theory by shooting her pistol at the orange spots on it's knees. One of them exploded into a pile of glowing orange liquid, forcing the creature to slump to the side in pain. Nepgear scurried over to help Compa up, her leg sprained and twisted now from falling.

"You really shouldn't wear high-heels everywhere." Nepgear joked with her.

"I regret nothing!" Compa laughed. They hobbled onwards, the creature already trying to catch up. It's speed was remarkable considering it's size. I summoned Shredrix then took point at a distant perch to try and pin it down while the other's escaped. I took quite a few potshots at another one of it's knees, then brought it down just as it neared the group again. It spewed that luscious orange fluid again. This time though, it didn't stay down. It got right back up and started charging headfirst into them like a raging bull.

"Dodge!" IF shouted. Nepgear helped thrust Compa to the side. The salamander realized it missed, then locked all four of it's legs to the ground. It skid along the ground, ripping up the earth and plants as it turned to it's side. It looked over to see where it's prey was and slammed it's tail on the ground, spikes leaving holes in the ground. I kept firing a steady stream of bullets into it's knee, knocking it down when I busted another kneecap open. It drooped now, completely enraged. It looked up at me, perched high on a grassy knoll.

"Uh-oh, looks like I've got the most agro now," I commented silently to myself. I shot it's last leg fast, busting it right open and blasting it on it's side. Ready to fire again, I noticed the creature beginning to slip from something, falling downwards. I dropped down from my perch then ran over to where I last saw it. It apparently dropped off into a deep ravine, landing in a rapid river. It hissed and convulsed as it was melted and carried away by the rushing water. Steam rose up all the way to the highest trees.

"Everyone okay?" I asked looking back at my party. Nepgear and Compa limped to me and IF was brushing off her jacket. Compa, resting beside Nepgear and IF, soaked her leg in a healing solvent that brought her back to life.

"Good call about the orange spots, Miss Nepgear," I complimented Nepgear. She smiled to herself then stood back up.

"Actually, Compa whispered the idea to me, so she's the one to thank. She just didn't have the breath to shout to everyone" Nepgear replied.

Compa smiled and said, "As my grandfather said, 'Only through observation will you perceive weakness.'"

"Okay, I think we're all good now," IF stated, leading the pack once again. We took a bridge across the ravine. It was very shakey and rotten, but it held. If it could handle the weight of Shredrix and I, I was sure it could handle the weight of the others. We crossed over and, judging from the sight of water, we weren't far from the River of Ghosts.

"Anyone else feel like we're being watched?" Nepgear asked, looking around frantically through the thick jungle. The trees have made a dense cover of shadows along the edge of our path we followed. I could hear the occasional shifting of nearby shrubery. It was loud though, a lot louder than any normal creature would make.

"Yeah, and I don't like it at all," IF commented. She stowed her phone away to keep her eyes focused more on our darkened path ahead.

"Ge-Ge, I'm a little scared," Compa said quietly. I looked down to see that there were tracks. From a barefooted human no less.

"Stop!" IF commanded us. She looked down worriedly at a poisoned dart that was shot right in front of her.

"We've got company. Show yourselves!" I commanded looking around for our hidden predators.

"We mean no harm, we come in peace!" Nepgear tried to coax them out of hiding. In the distance I could hear some incoherant banter, strange noises and such. A bizarre looking man in tribal clothing came out from hiding. His skin looked rather tan and he only had a short supply of hair on his head. It looked like he was a tribal native to the area.

"You mean no harm?" He asked in a gentle but proud voice.

"Nope, we're just passing by," IF assured him.

"Oh good! It's been years since we've had visitors, please come on into the villiage!" The strange man beckoned us forward. "Just whatever you do, don't eat the walking mushrooms. We haven't quite nailed down exactly what species it is, but it's a lively one and it does not like the human digestion system." He continued, pointing to a trio of strange little mushroom creatures.

"We?" Nepgear asked, looking around for more people.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I haven't properly introduced myself. I'm Albulba, you can call me Al, and I'm part of the Pyupanounou tribe," He explained. Approaching a gate, he performed a variety of motions to a pair of gate guards standing post on high wooden towers. They had their town secluded off by a barbaric wall of pointed brown logs that seemed to touch the clouds. It was rugged but it looked like a very peaceful tribe.

"Excuse me, Mr. Poopeynoknee, but do you know how to get down the River of Ghosts and to the Choozing Ruins?" Compa asked with an attempt at innocence.

Al chose to ignore the mispronunciation of his tribe's name and said, "We know how to get down, but we lack the proper materials to make a raft that's sturdy enough to hold up against the river creatures."

"If we get the materials needed, could we use the raft?" Nepgear asked, shooing off a sheep that kept following her.

"I suppose that'd be in order, but I'll warn you, we're far from finished and the area around us is treacherous. We haven't ventured far at all and what we have seen has little to no resources," Al led us into a large hut made of dark brown woods and thick strands of yellow hay. It was well-built and, from the looks of it, was probably the main hall of the village. The mahogany tables were well made, and the benches, despite being made of pure wood, were amazingly comfy. Even IF, with her stiff stature, was relaxed.

"Code, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" IF asked, looking at me with a her usual blunt expression.

"4X sounds like a damn good idea right about now," I started, looking to Al and asking, "You think you could give me command of some of your troops? I think I can safely guide them to what they need and maybe add another base or two for you to work with," I offered.

"Normally I'd say yes, seeing that my troops are well trained, but we need people here to defend the town. We've been hit hard the past few days from a large beast that keeps flattening our troops," Al explained. While we were conversing, a pair of strange looking tribesmen, one tall and one small, entered and took position next to Al.

"Big and black and orange and looks like a very large lizard?" Nepgear asked with a hopeful gaze in her eyes.

"Yes? How did you know?" Al asked.

"That things dead. Nothing but a molten pile of ash floating down a river right now," IF informed. Even Al's stoic guardians beside him gave a gasp in amazement.

"Did you really kill Big Bertha?" The tall guardian asked.

"Fried and died man," I confirmed.

"That's alot less to worry about. Though we'll still need people around if something else shows up," Al stated, relaxed in his chair.

"I could have the rest of my party defend camp. They're well above the reccommended level for this task," I offered again. Al pondered a bit, his hands brushing off some leftover jungle debris from his grassy loincloth.

"I suppose that would be fine. I'll show you a place to sleep for now. We'll conduct business here in a few minutes." Al gave us a peaceful smile, stood up, and led us to a medium-sized tribal home made of a lighter shade of wood than the main hall. The house was very well insulated, keeping out both harsh cold and beating sun alike. While the others got settles in, I took off for the main hall. Al greeted me at the door to the main hall. Nepgear and I walked with him back over to the meeting room, then he led us down a hallway and into a rugged war room, dimly lit by makeshift sunroofs and nearby torches. His two strange guards stood at the ends of the war table.

"First of all, I'd like you to meet my military commander, Tik..." Al started, pointing to the smaller of the guards.

"At your command your mighty...hoodie...ness..." Tik stuttered.

"And my supply director, Tok..." Al pointed to the taller one and walked over to the table with me.

"Yeah...at your service or whatever." Tok sighed, paying more attention to his looks than me.

"Alright, to start off with, explain to me what all we'll need to finish the raft," I commanded. Tok led me over to a piece of aged parchment paper that spanned the north wall.

"Okay, well we're gonna need some Hematite, Orichalcum, Adamantite, Mythril, a limb or two from the Magic Trees, and alotta Adhesive Gel. Where we're gonna find this stuff, I ain't got a clue," Tok informed me with little interest in the conversation.

"What a project, this is gonna be a challenge," I commented to myself, walking back over to the war table. I looked at the map he had pinned to it, decorated in occasional markings with a lot of strange features. We were along the riverbank, to the north was a strange ruin marked Caperture, to the east was Planeptune, the south had an old Dwarven Mine, and the west was the Death Forest.

"Can you tell me what troops are at my disposal?" I asked to the smaller one of the commanding duo.

"We have archers, warriors, and settlers. A good eight troops of each, sir," Tik replied.

"How far have you been into the ruins up north?"

"Not too much, most of our troops were scared off. There's a big metal gate that leads in, but we haven't gone past that. There's some strange voice that keeps saying 'it's been a long time' but thanks to that, all of our troops are spooked around there." Tik explained. I think up that way is the Phantom Valley region, but usually stuff like that is minor compared to what's in the depths of that place.

"I think the Caperture ruins will be our best first bet. I have a feeling that there'll likely be much needed metals in there. Should I send one of my party with them for a moral boost?" I asked.

"Can we spare it? Big Bertha IS gone after all," Tik looked up to Al.

"I think so, which one would you like to send?" Al asked.

"IF, the one in the big blue jacket. She's tough and has a pretty positive attitude, I think she'll keep them going in there. We'll send three warrior trios up there tomorrow," I commanded. Tik went outside for a brief moment, plucked a feather from a chicken then dipped it in ink, writing my commands on the map.

"Was plucking the feather necessary? I'm sure there's one on the floor out there," I eyed Tik curiously.

"Eh, I don't think they're gonna mind having one less feather," Tik said. I shrugged then went back to planning.

"Aww, I got chicken blood in the ink! Stupid chicken," Tik complained, looking at his feather with distress.

"Want me to go kick it in the river?" Tok asked happily. Tik nodded and Tok was off in an instant.

"I think we'll be safe sending our remaining warriors down into the mines to look for the ores," I instructed. Tik continued writing instructions on the map, a hint of blood in his ink.

"That'll be out plans for now. Dismissed!" I commanded, leaving for my sleeping quarters. IF was trying to get Compa to quit trying to treat a wet and wounded chicken while Nepgear sat on her bed in silence and solitude.

"Hey sis, what's wrong?" I asked sitting next to her on the comfy bed.

"Nothing," She replied with a fake smile. I didn't smile back to her, for I knew she was lying.

"You have been so quiet this whole trip. Don't tell me your still worried about your sister," I sighed and stopped as I saw a silent tear go down her face. It was hard for me to grasp why she still blamed herself for what happened to Neptune, but I didn't like her sulking.

"Don't blame yourself. Guilt isn't gonna help you get over missing her, it's probably what has you feeling like she's haunting you," I laid my hand on hers, trying to comfort her into letting go. IF chased Compa out of the room when the chicken fled out of the room in fear. Compa really wanted to heal the chicken, but IF was bound not to led her. Now it was just me and Nepgear in the room.

"I can't help that I'll always miss her."

"And she misses you too," I started, coaxing myself into trying a risky move, "But you know what? I miss you, I miss the happy and positive Nepgear that had a heart of pure gold. I may not have known you long, but I know this isn't like you, and I really miss that cheerful and airheaded girl that had a smile that represented all of Planeptune." I looked to her beady, teary eyes, making sure I had her attention.

"I'm sorry. I really really am sorry, I know I shouldn't be acting like this, especially when we're on such an important mission."

"You have every reason to be like this, which is why I'm trying to get you out of this funk. But you gotta think, there could be alot worse situations. Look at Compa and IF. You don't think they were sad to see Neptune go? I'm sure they still tear up a little just thinking about it, but they keep their heads high so that they can brave the day. Do the same, let your worries go, say that you're not afraid, relax, and enjoy all the fun this adventure brings. I promise, you'll never come in harms way, but you gotta get a grip on yourself," I continued even longer. I hated monologues, but I hated seeing such a precious person so sad even more. Nepgear swallowed her voice and nodded.

"Now, can I see a smile?" I asked playfully. She giggled and nodded with an honest and warm smile. I could feel it in the aura around her that she had her mind in a better place, if not for just a while.

"Much better. Remember kiddo, it may not be all fun and games, but we're gonna make the best of this adventure, right?"

"Right!" She nodded, wiping away the last of her tears. Just as she finished, Compa and IF came back in.

"Poor, Mr. Chicken! Why didn't you just let me help him?" Compa complained with a saddened look.

"He was a damn chicken missing a feather, he wasn't gonna die!" IF shot back. I looked out of the door to see that the sun was already dipping back down into the jungle. The stars were slowly making their way out and the air was chilling.

"It looks really nice," Nepgear commented.

"Yeah if it weren't for all the psychotic creatures running around, this place would be a paradise," I said. I shut the door and climbed into the top bunk bed of Nepgear's bed.

"Probably would be a good idea to head to bed early," I recommended, passing out in moments. I fell asleep before anybody could even add their opinions.

(+_*_+)

It was still early in the morning when I woke up. The sun was just rising over the horizon, but my wristwatch I had hidden under my sleeve said it was already eight o'clock. My head was in a whir until I noticed that Nepgear was still asleep. I had a brilliant idea pop into my head. I eased myself under her bed, plenty of room available for me to get under.

"Oooohhhh..." I moaned softly, feigning a ghastly sound rather well. Nepgear didn't stir at all, so I did it again, but a little louder.

"Wh-what the g-g-goodness..." She whispered.

"Give me your soooouuuulllll..." I moaned quietly. It was starting to grow hard keeping myself from laughing.

"No! No! Not my soul!" She shouted in a hushed voice. It was hard, but I eased my hand up around the back of the bed. I thrusted my hand down on her wrist and she flew out of the house, almost ripping the door off it's rope-hinges.

"What was that?" IF asked in worry. I remained under the bed in hiding. IF and Compa both left the room, searching for the fleeing Nepgear. I snuck outside then walked around the side of the house, laughing the hardest I could without making noise. What I just did was probably really mean, but it was a bit necessary in a twisted sense. Walking back over to IF and Compa now, making it look like I just came from somewhere, I asked, "What happened?"

"Ge-Ge screamed and ran off about something," Compa continued looking around.

"Wait, where were you when all this happened?" IF asked accusingly.

"I was off droppin' a deuce in the river," I said.

"Oh how lovely," IF whispered with a sigh, running off to find Nepgear.

"Well, wherever she is, take care of her and comfort her okay?" I said to Compa. She nodded and ran off with IF to find her. I slipped my headset and turned it on to my favorite tunes as usual, walking off to try finding Nepgear.

"Welcome to a world where the air I breathe is mine, nothing to overwhelm me, and nothing to cloud my mind..." I sang along quietly to my song as I walked happily along. I weaved around darkened houses, vision adapted to seeing in the dark. A glimpse of Nepgear's white coat caught my eye, but when I looked over to her, IF and Compa were comforting her and settling her down.

"Rude and evil for me to do, but regardless, mission accomplished." I said quietly. Her friends need to be caring for her too. It would be a little odd if the people that had been friends with her for years were doing less than me, the one that just met her not even a month ago. Besides, I had an army to lead. I entered the meeting hall where Al was drinking coffee from a crude wooden mug to wake himself up.

"Morning, Al," I greeted. He just grunted, clearly not much of a morning person. I glanced over the battle plans I made, silently critiquing myself. I probably should've thrown in an archer or two with the warriors going into the ruins. Hoping that the warriors would do well, I checked on my positioning and trails for the other troops. I switched my music off as the day approached, troops ready to move out.

"Testing, testing, can you hear me IF?" I asked with my mic plugged in.

"Loud and clear," She replied over her little Redtooth headset I gave her.

"Good. You're free to head out. Give me status updates as often as possible," I commanded like a boss.

"Roger that. Heading out now," She finished. I watched her from a nearby window, leaving north into a distant ruin. I also saw Nepgear and Compa come to the main hall, entering the war room.

Compa, just as chipper as ever, said with a warming smile, "Hi Code!"

A little shaken still, Nepgear asked, "Hey, uh, Code? Did you happen to hear anything weird this morning?"

Doing my best to feign innocence, I said, "Nope. I was out taking care of some things earlier this morning outside of the village."

Nepgear and Compa didn't seem to think me suspicious. I wanted to sigh in relief, but I held my breath for the moment. After a brisk shrug, Nepgear asked, "So what will you have us do?"

As much as I didn't want to sound like a smart-ass, I asked Nepgear, "You're the leader of the group. What do you think you should do?"

"Uh, should I be guarding the gates?"

"Should you?" I asked.

"Mr. Code, don't tease Nepgear too much," Compa said, giving me a little relieving smile.

I returned the disarming smile and said, "You need to think for yourself a little, sis. And yes, I think guarding the gate wouldn't be a bad idea." Turning my head to look at Compa, I asked her, "So what do you think you should be doing?"

"Healing the villagers and teammates!" Compa said enthusiastically.

"Atta girl. Go get 'em girls." I dismissed them. They both departed quietly, seemingly content with the tasks they were assigned.

"Anything you want me to make? Some archer units? A catapult unit? A cup of Jujuice?" Tok asked, cleaning his nails of gunk.

"I'll pass on the Jujuice, but if you could get some catapult units, that'd be nice." I replied, not looking at him but rather at the map to judge our next move. I probably should've considered my defense yesterday, but I was more focused on getting our required items. I think instead of heading to the forest next, I'm going to keep any returning units back here at the base and bolster our defenses.

A few hours had passed and Tok had the catapults almost ready to go. Al had come in to discuss the plans with me, asking if we should reinforce the gates with an extra plate of wood. I liked the idea, but I wanted him to leave the wood until we knew what exactly we were dealing with outside the village.

"Tik, how are Compa and Nepgear doing?" I asked looking down to the little native.

"Hold on, I'll check!" He replied, rushing briefly out of the hut and outside.

"Oh my! Yeah, they're not doin' too good out there. Ooh, there went a couple o' legs!" He shouted back in horror.

"What?!" I shouted in distress, looking up with my eyes almost popping out of my head.

"Wait a second, Nepgear's the purple hair'd one right?" He asked again.

"Yeah."

"Oh, my bad. I had the wrong people. That's just the village idiots getting munched on," He replied, calmly walking back inside.

I let out a sigh of relief, then put my mind back in order. "Then would you kindly check on the actual Nepgear and Compa?" I asked politely, secretely grumbling in distress. He rushed back outside and returned again.

"They're doing fine. Only a couple creatures have tried entering, both of them stopped." Tik explained.

"Now that's what I like to hear. Good work," I praised the little military strategist.

"Your welcome, your mighty hoodie-ness!"

"Don't call me that. I'm not royalty. Just call me Code."

"Okay, Code."

Glad that little detail was cleared up, I tried thinking of things I can do around the village to help out. There were only a few odd jobs to help with crops and a few things to do on the raft. Only it's sub-shell was complete, but with our much needed pieces flowing in soon, she should be a beauty soon enough. I fixed up the raft a little, delivered them some food and drink, helped put out a burning house and even kept out a crazy monkey or two.

"Code, do you read?" IF asked over my headset.

"Yeah, I'm here. What do you have to report?"

"We've found a few cans of Adhesive Gel, but we see some more that we might be able to get to. We might lose a few men though in the process..." IF started.

"Hello? Is Anybody there?" I heard a distant mechanical voice ask. The sound of soft machine gun fire and screaming filled the headset for a moment.

"Aww dammit, what did I tell you morons about the machines? Don't get near 'em!" IF shouted distantly, her voice trailing to her mic.

"Looks like we might not be getting that extra gel. There's no way past all these little white turrets. Permission to return to base?" IF asked.

"Permission granted. See you home," I finished, lowering my headset from my ears. I walked back to the war room, Tik and Tok both conversing near it. I crossed off Adhesive Gel on the list of needed supplies. I walked back to the war table, examining possible outposts and a possibility of earning us a new villiage in the mines. Occasionally Tik would be glancing at me, observing me.

"Something up?" I asked the little native.

"What does the 'T' stand for on those big things you wear over your ears?" Tik asked, pointing to my circumaural headset.

"Titan Technologies. They make gaming headsets and other stuff. Hard to explain," I briefly notified him. He still seemed mystified by them, but they've been out in the jungle for who knows how long. No telling what the little critters really know. Finishing up tomorrow's plans of bolstering defenses, I came back outside to see IF returning. They were lacking a trio of warriors, but the other two troops I sent with her seemed to be fine.

"Welcome back comrad, I take it all went well in the ruins?" I asked, taking the Adhesive Gel from her.

"I wont lie, they have a good reason to be freaked out about that place. It's kinda creepy in there, but at least we wont have to go back. Do you have any further orders?" She asked. I could tell she was tired, sweating and trying to hide heavy breaths.

"Go rest up, get something to eat, and be prepared for guard duty tomorrow. We need to bolster defenses before running out-" I was interrupted by a large lava-creature busting through the barriers. The archers fired their arrows at the orange spots attached to it's spine, their remarkably good.

"IF, check on Nepgear and Compa, I'm gonna take this beast down!" I commanded.

"Right!" She replied, running off with her claws shining out of her long sleeves. I had to rush back to the house to retrieve Grindrix, still resting in my bed. I picked her up by the heavy grip and pressed her special button, summoning Shredrix. The creature shook the earth every step it took, almost making it hard for me to move. I needed to dispatch the mob and fast. Back outside, I climbed up it's spiny legs, grabbing a handful of rocky texture every step of the way. It shook and flared violently, trying to shake me off. I fired a few rounds into the orange spots on it's antennae, making it flinch and rear. I was high up into the air and as soon as the creature hit maximum height, I lost grip. I could feel my air vanish and my mind fog up. Summoning Grindrix back as fast as I could, I dug her right into the creature's spine, shattering every single orange spot along the way. It shrieked in pain and fell onto it's back, threatening to flatten me. I redirected myself and let gravity push Grindrix to a safe belly of the beast.

"Are you two okay?" I asked Compa and Nepgear, limping towards me.

"They're pretty beat up, let's get them some treatment. Help me get Compa to her first aid in the hut," IF instructed, letting Nepgear rest on her shoulder. Compa tried to limp on her own, but lacked the strength to keep going. Grindrix was gonna have to wait to be cleaned off for now, I had to help Compa back to the hut.

(+_*_+)

"You okay? Don't strain yourself," IF kept working with Compa while I comforted Nepgear. The two needed some well-earned rest. Compa wanted to help, but IF promised to take care of everything. I let Nepgear know that everything and everyone was okay so that I could try and ease my way back to the war room. Once IF's back was turned, I fled for the war room to give commands to the archers and soldiers to guard the doors while the catapult was being finished. I rushed back to the hut, IF dismayed but understanding.

"You okay?" I asked Nepgear as I sat down on a stool next to her bed.

She smiled the best she could and said, "Yeah. I think I'll be fine."

"What happened out there?" asked IF.

"That big creature dug it's way up from underground, catching us off guard. We got buried under a little rubble and had to fight to get free." Nepgear said quietly. She didn't seem like she had a lot of energy, so I didn't press any further.

I checked her temperature briefly then gave her some of the villages herbal remedies. They were said to heal fast by Compa's medical terms. I was very worried about that until the local medic assured me again that everything was alright with them.

"Let's all get some rest, it's been a long day," I stated, walking off for bed. I hoped to see the mine dwellers in the morning. I didn't have any way to communicate with them, and I didn't quite trust them to properly use a Redtooth headset. The mines were deep, so I could expect them to take their time. Hopefully they'd be fine by the time they returned.

(+_*_+)

When I woke up early in the morning again, I silently clambered down from my bed with Grindrix in hand, taking a quick glance around me to make sure everyone was still asleep. The sun wasn't out at all this morning, and I doubted anyone was going to wake up anytime soon. My temptation to move out was higher than I would've liked. My mind told me, "Go get the limbs from the Magic Trees. You should be able to handle it." However, I knew that it would be my ass if IF or Nepgear found out that I went alone. Looking at the wooden gate that was slightly cracked open, I could almost see the Magic Trees from where I was.

"Ten minutes. Won't even take that much." I whispered to myself, slinking out of the crack in the west gate. There was a well-designed bridge that looked like it would support my weight going across the River of Ghosts. I could see the trees already, but the problem was the glowing I saw from that.

"Damn, looks like they're guarded." I whispered. I knew I would have to make my trip a quick one, so I aimed for a low-hanging branch as I quickly ran across the bridge, the sound of the rushing rapids below muting my footsteps. Standing under the trees, a spray of magic dust wandered down as I began hacking at the low branches with Grindrix. The first branch I needed fell with a loud thud, making my heart skip a beat. Quickly moving to the next branch, I was halfway to smashing that limb down when I heard the dreaded sound of nearby fluttering wings. And it wasn't just one pair.

"Oh crap, I really stirred up the hornet's nest this time!" I thought to myself, speeding up my hacking as much as I could. Another thud later, the branches were mine and I was hauling ass back to the bridge when I felt a sharp sting go through my upper left leg. It didn't take but five seconds for my leg to go numb from the poison laced in whatever was fired at my leg. I looked back to see a whole horde of fairies behind me, likely dryads, and they were definitely pissed off.

Booking it to the bridge with a heavy limp, I dove headfirst onto the bridge, tossing the limbs forward and praying that they didn't roll into the river. To my luck, they rolled down to the west gate of the village while I got myself back up with Grindrix. I knew the dryads wouldn't cross the river, they usually stay in their own territory.

Limping back into camp, I met eyes with the one person I really didn't want to see so early in the morning.

"I don't suppose you've been out just for some fresh air." asked IF, approaching me and helping drag in the Magic Tree branches.

"I woke up early, so I figure I'd get a little head start." I said confidently, trying to keep calm.

She looked around me for any sign of assistance. "Didn't feel like bringing back-up?"

"I can handle myself pretty well."

"I won't say you can't, but next time, bring someone with you. Wake me up if you have to."

Letting the branches rest on the ground for the moment, IF said, "Something tells me you don't have a lot of faith in me."

"I'm just saying I'd prefer if you let us know what's going on before doing something. We're in this together Code."

For a brief second, I felt relieved. That was, until the numbness in my leg went away to reveal a stinging sensation where I got sliced up by a dryad. "It almost sounds like you have a little care in your heart."

"M-maybe..."

I gave her a soft smile and she just shied away a little, which was kinda interesting coming from someone that appeared so hardened. Before she continued the conversation, she got a vial of green potion from her jacket and told me, "Hold still."

The potion burned like hell for a couple seconds, almost dropping me to my knees. Once the initial pain was gone, I could stand up straight again. "Thank you. And if you would, please don't mention this to Nepgear."

"What's in it for me?" asked IF, still holding onto a slight smirk.

"A little care from my heart?" I said nonchalantly.

"Hmph. I suppose the great IF can do you a favor this once," she said with a faux bravado that was almost cute to see.

With that said and done, I made my way over to the main hall. Judging from the dim torchlight eminating from the makeshift windows, I assumed that at least Al was awake there. Inside, Al greeted me good morning with his usual grunt while he sipped on coffee. Just as I had hoped, the team I sent to the mines hadI had the arriving troops from the mines put the adamantium, mythril, and hematite near the raft for the workers to implement into the raft. Tik and Tok both were wide awake and ready for duty. I crossed off the ores and the Magic Tree branches from the supply list then joined Tik and Tok by the war table.

"Okay, so first thing's first, is the catapult finished?" I asked Tik. He nodded and I marked where to deploy the hulking wooden cannon in the village. Next I instructed a troop of warriors and some settlers to take up base inside of the mines. From the warriors' status report, the mines are still structurely sound.

"I want you to also send Nepgear down that way. She's back to full health now, and will be able to defend well against attacks while the base is set up," I commanded. Tok rushed off to notify Nepgear, leaving just me and Tik to discuss battle plans.

"Send the rest of our warriors to the woods along with a trio of archers. The base here is well defended thanks to the catapult," I instructed. We both worked together to form a decent plan for the archers to follow. All was going well from there, population had increased not long ago and the village was prospering. Once the base was built inside the mines, I instructed the settlers to begin training some archers to defend. Before I even knew it, the day was only half over and the raft was done, looking like a mighty sail-worthy vessel.

IF and the others gathered around the raft upon it's completion. I departed from the war room, heading over with the rest of the group. As the raft was prepared for our departure, the rest of the tribe gathered around with us.

Al, standing before us with his tribe behind him, began speaking in a firm tone, "In honor of the Pyupanounou people, we'd like to make you official members of our tribe and thank you for all your help. Please, feel free to take the raft as far as you'd like, as much as you'd like. And leave the development of the villages and bases to us. We can take it from here."

Offering his firm, dirty hand to Nepgear, she hesitantly shook his hand. Once our departure ceremony was completed, all of us boarded the ship. The tribe helped push it in the sea, where the water's firm waves pushed us down the stream.

"They were an awful nice group of people!" Compa happily commented.

"We should come back again sometime," Nepgear smiled.

"We can check up on them a little later, but for now, we have to get to the Choozing Ruins," IF stated, her serious attitude killing the positivity we shared in the sheltered little room atop the deck of the raft. Truthfully it was more like a boat than a raft. The sun was shining brightly, birds chirping, monkeys playing and occasionally being devoured by strange lava-creatures, the day was perfect to sail in. Occasionally we'd feel a tap from the creatures in the river, trying to knaw into the shield of expensive ores and failing. The trip was smooth, and once we reached and impasse of broken brick bridges, we parked the boat and stepped back onto the jungle ground again, staring deep into the depths of the Choozing Ruins.

"I hear something coming from in there," I commented, being the first to walk forward. Nobody else had anything to say until we got inside. The bridge, crushed and ruined, was a hazard to jump across. The only thing for support were the multiple columns of broken brick jutting from the depths of the river. I didn't know for sure how deep the river was, but I didn't intend to find out, so I took caution in leaping across the columns. Even Compa and Nepgear made it across just fine. We began walking into the vine covered ruins, darkness encompassing us. I could hear the occasional sounds of shifting creatures inside, distraught from us invading their territory. Whatever creatures are inside could be entirely different from outside.

"Trust nothing in here," I noted to the others. Nepgear surprisingly took lead. Near the already distant entrance, I heard a massive quaking. The ground began to shake more and more violently by the second. I looked back to see the entrance crumbling to bits and slowly nearing us as well. I didn't need to say anything for us to know we had to run. As the hallways began to multiply, each of us ended up taking different routes, opening us up to a whole new kind of problem. The crumbling hallway trapped us into paths of our own to take.

"Nepgear, Compa, IF, do you read? I repeat, do you read?" I asked, sliding my headset on. They all acknowledged. I let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Okay, here's the plan people. Chances are, there's some kind of large room or something like that around here somewhere. If you find a large room, wait there for any others. Wait about two hours, and if nobody shows up, continue. Alright?" I commanded. It was nice to be leader for a while, I wasn't screwing anything up yet so nobody had complaints.

"Should we pick up anything of use along the way?" Nepgear asked.

"If it can fit in your inventory, go for it. Be careful though, we don't know what any of this stuff does," I replied. I walked down my path, sloping down into a deeper section. I could hear distant breathing beyond the soft, black fabric of my headphonse. It unsettled me as I looked around for the source. One of the halls, dark and damp, revealed a large toad of sorts waiting at a dead end. I jumped back, preparing Grindrix for assault. The frog-thing shuddered but didn't move. I could see it breathing, but it wasn't going to budge. Maybe it's weight made it too heavy to move. Step by step, I slowly neared the hulk of a creature. I dared myself to touch it, letting my hand get closer and closer to it's cold skin. I was able to touch it without frightening it. It's skin felt like it was solid rock, but I didn't see any orange spots on it, so it wasn't like the others outside. It made a half-groan, half-purr when I laid my hand on it. I backed off and decided to just move along. I didn't need to be pissing off the wildlife. My path grew darker and darker, making it near impossible to see. The floor dropped from under me, a sudden surge of gravity thrusting me down a long chute. The rocks and chipped bricks following me down dug into my skin, vines choking me as they caught on my face. I tumbled and turned, stabbed occasionally by brick appendages sticking out. Finally hitting the bottom I let out a long moan.

"Code, what happened? Are you okay?" Nepgear asked over the mic.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just took a bit of a fall," I replied. I stood up and dusted off my hoodie. There was sunlight pouring in from a nearby hole in the wall, illuminating a few paths ahead. "How are the rest of you doing?"

"It's dark in here! And really cold!" Compa complained.

"You'll be fine. IF?"

"There's something shifting around me but I can't quite catch it. It glows white, I know that. If you see it let me know," IF made her footsteps loud and clear over the mic. She was moving and fast. Walking forward from the room, a brick door slammed shut with a grinding sound behind me, spitting long-forgotten dust from the floor. I mumbled curses to myself quietly and kept going. The halls twisted and turned, making numerous forks and dead ends, like it was made by some sick, twisted architect. But once I started nearing mechanical devices and rusted pipes, I knew I was making progress. To where, I had no idea. It was a start though, hopefully I could find somewhere to make into a meeting ground. The grounds seemed expansive enough to warrant some sort of sacrificial chamber, an arboretum, something big for us to meet at. My wish was granted a few hallways ahead. I found a large sunchamber, a perfect circle except for two extentions leading out of the chamber. I also found Nepgear looking around aimlessly, mainly at the large pillar holding a grand flower surrounded by water near the middle of the chamber.

"Hey, you didn't tell me you found a meeting spot," I shouted to her. My voice echoed across the distant room, accidentally frightening Nepgear. She ran over to me, skipping and leaping across the thick vines pushed up through the brick and stone.

"I'm so sorry! I completely forgot! I really am sorry..." She bowed and apologized.

"It's fine, Ms. Nepgear. At least we're safe right?" I asked. She nodded and told me about examining the area. As I had expected, the room was a sunchamber. It was closed though, hence the dome above us, blocking out sunlight with firm, stone bricks. She showed me where four people needed to simultaneously needed to pull levers in order to open the place up. According to what Nepgear's figured out, we need to open the sunchamber to unlock the door needed in order to progress. For now, we needed to stay and wait for the others.

"For now, let's relax and wait. It wouldn't be too good of an idea to leave here. Let the others know where we are," I informed Nepgear, standing aside for a moment and letting IF and Compa know where we were and what to do. Little did I know, Nepgear was hiding something. She shifted about on her legs, off balance but more than usual.

(+_*_+)

"Where'd you go now?" IF shouted quietly to herself, following her ghastly prey attentively through the dim halls. No matter what she did, she couldn't quite catch the glowing creature.

"Gotcha!" She shouted in false victory at a dead end. Her ghostly friend had vanished completely. IF had finally confirmed that her prey was indeed a ghost. "It's definitely a ghost, but of what power?" She asked herself again and again as she chased it amongst the hallways. Bit by bit, IF saw pieces of the ghosts rapid movements again. Glaring back at it, IF could see the ghost standing before a door before rapidly looking behind it at her. Staring deep into her, it entranced her. The ghostly thing had it's bird-like face pointed right at her. The skinny legs that kept it aloft bended and sprang, lifting it off an away. IF came back to reality and shuddered at the thought of the horrible creature.

"Iffy!" Compa shouted, latching onto IF. IF jumped, then tried to turn around, looking Compa right in the face.

"Dammit, don't scare me like that!" She complained, shooing away her shivers.

"Sorry Iffy. Hey, did you see that weird little ghosty thingy too? I think it wanted to play with me!" Compa asked, her speech patterns accelerated for some reason. She acted alot more jittery than normal. Her movements were alot more random, as was her speech.

"Uh, yeah. You okay? You seem kinda shakey." IF commented.

"Oh yeah, I kinda got hurt earlier, falling rocks landing on my legs, crushed them pretty bad. Hurt so much! But when I went to go add my potion solvent, I accidentally mixed up my healing potion for a Haste potion, so now I have a whole bunches of caffeine running through me, pretty funny huh?" Compa explained in a mere five seconds if not less.

"Okay then anyways, have you seen the others yet?" IF asked, hoping to get a halfway audible answer rather then sped up gibberish.

"Nope, all I've seen is you and Mr. Ghosty. Oh, hai Mr. Ghosty! Come play with me!" Compa waved to the distant ghost that stood at the bottom of a stairwell. Compa dashed after it in a blue blur, hardly even going a human speed.

"Compa! What are you doing?" IF asked angrily. She chased after her, hoping to keep up with her insane speed. IF kept up closely until she was led right into a trap by the hyper girl. They were both sent soaring in the air by a spring-loaded platform. They were launched right into another part of the trap. A slanted and smooth platform shot up from under them, sliding them along a slick track that dumped them both right into the sunchamber, where Nepgear and I awaited in surprise.

"Well, into the belly of the beast," Compa said, looking around the massive sunchamber.

"And out of the demon's ass," IF complained, rubbing her bruised behind.

"Welcome to the sunchamber," I greeted IF and Compa. Nepgear quickly greeted them, rushing to their side and asking a dozen times over if either of them were hurt.

IF, as usual, was the first to ask, "So what's going on here? Any way out?"

Replying quickly, Nepgear said, "We think that these three levers need to be pulled at the same time to get out."

"That pretty well sums it up," I said, "Now if you'll all assume your positions, we'll get this party started."

"At the count of three! One! Two! Three!" I shouted into the mic, pulling my rocky and aged lever down.

The clicks from the others' levers were off signal just enough that we heard no resulting noise.

"Wha-Why didn't it work?" Nepgear asked.

"Probably a little speaker lag threw us off, let's try this aloud." I commanded, dropping my headset to wrap around my neck. "On the count of three!" I announced aloud, "One! Two! Three!" I heaved down. This time all the clicks were flawlessly arranged, opening the sunchamber to a bright evening light. I sheltered my surprised eyes for a moment, as did IF. We met up at the opposite side of the chamber, where the door was now unlocked.

"Cool. Let's go," IF bluntly ordered, taking lead through the opened block door. A distant shriek that boiled blood and sent paralyzing shivers down our spines filled the hallway, coming from the sunchamber. We needn't say anything to each other, rather just taking the initiative to run and fast.

(+_*_+)

"Are we safe now?" Nepgear asked, panting.

"I...I think so. Whatever was back there sure as hell didn't sound happy to see us. Anyways, we're finally at Speed Haven and that's what really matters. Now we just have to find 'him'," IF said with breath as hard to draw as ever.

"Him?" I asked bluntly. I gained my breath alot faster than the others, but my bones were killing me from running. Of course, Grindrix played alot in the role of weight, but I didn't mind. She was welcome to weigh me down.

"You'll see what I'm talking about here in a minute," IF stated, walking along a dusty roadway. We walked about a mile, no signs of life at all until we reached a broken highway where a huge machine rested alongside the edge of the road.

"What the hell is that?" I asked looking to a towering machine. It looked like a vending machine mixed with a tank and a robot.

"That is a Garagiant. This is where we're going to get our vehicles. This place is damn near impossible to travel across without a car," IF started, looking at a distant sign that read 'Turncage Tunnel', "We're going to need some Turncages. Come on, you all can use my Accel-R-Ration." IF dug in her pockets for what looked like a driver's license.

"This is so confusing," Compa sighed with Nepgear nodding her head in agreement. I just went with it and approached the strange monster with caution. My grip tightened around Grindrix just in case.

"Cars live here, getchu one!" The machine announced, turning slightly to face us. IF slid her card along a slot embedded in the yellow and brown machine that towered over us like a skyscraper. She pushed a load of buttons on the machine. Then four cars of strange shape were dropped from a large slot at the bottom of the Garagiant. The cars had large tires and flat bodies, a dome in the middle was where we sat. But I noticed that on the bottom of the car looked like a mirrored chassis. There was a pink one for Compa, a camo colored one for IF, a purple and gold one for Nepgear, and a silver and black one for me. It took a while to figure out the controls, but before I knew it, I was ready to race.

I revved my sleek sounding engine loudly, pulled up to the large roadway. There was an uncontrollable shaking in my hands, but it was far from nervousness playing a part in that. What I was feeling was pure adreniline. It was probably a bad time to mention it, but I loved to race. A grin across my face, my heart beating faster, without any patience, I asked over the mic, "Everyone ready?"

"Ready!" Compa cheerily said.

"I think I'm ready," Nepgear said unconfidently.

"Good to go!" IF finished.

"On your marks, get set, go!" I shouted in glee, thrusting the machine into gear and flying off down the street...


	7. When Speed Isn't Enough

IF and I raced each other for the lead, Compa and Nepgear still trying to adjust to the incredible speeds we flew down the tunnels with. The neon lights on the edge of the tunnel glowed brightly, illuminating the tunnel into the cities within deeper Speed Haven. I personally became attached to driving on the ceiling, the thrill was immense. The cars were built to race on the ceilings, the walls, anything really. The tunnel twisted and turned, corkscrewed and looped, took us on a speedy journey through tunnels of neon and cyber-tech cities. We rarely left the tubes though, but when we did, we saw the sun hanging over into the horizon, casting the skies and clouds into a magnificent orange.

"Nepgear, your gonna have to speed up! You're getting left behind!" IF informed the purple car way behind us.

"I'm sorry! I'm really trying!" She replied, still fiddling with the controls of her car. Her vehicle slid out into a sharp curve that had her racing on the tunnel wall. Compa had to swerve out of the way to avoid getting hit. Nepgear, I could understand her being unconfident about driving, but even Compa was beating her.

"Try harder, sis!" I said to Nepgear. We entered the city parts again, its technological splendor providing a lovely change of scenery. Aging circuitboards hidden behind worn glass marked the city's age, but the sheer amount of soft neon and decorative glass made every lane and street feel one step closer to the future.

We slid in and out of not only large streets, but in buildings and such too. It all in all was an exhilirating race. Seeing that this whole region was made for speed, it made me feel free to cut loose and rage it up on the streets. Soon though, I'd realize that we'd be have to give up these vehicles eventually for different ones, but I didn't care. I was going to enjoy my inverted experience the most I could. Nepgear finally joined us with her purple car shifting in and out shortcuts built into the city. Her car wasn't the fastest, but its turning was razor-sharp. The road forked back into another tunnel, glowing with a green neon instead of white. I swerved to the side, hitting the back of a car carrier ramp. My car went flying clean over IF and Compa who now battled for second place. I felt on the top of the world. At least, until I saw a pair of familiar taillights appear in front of me. Apparently Nepgear's shortcut gave her the boost she needed. I had to swerve out of the way to avoid ramming her though.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get in front of everyone," Nepgear apologized, secretely feeling proud of herself.

"You wont be in front for long," I teased, looking up to see her racing on the ground while I raced on the roof. I passed her and left them all in the dust. Again I was at the top of the world. And again, I was broken from my fun. Something just exploded at the top of the tunnel, forcing me off to the wall while shrapnel scattered around the bottom of the tunnel

"What the..."

Another explosion made us all have to shift away from the gaping hole in the wall. The track started to become dangerous as more and more explosions ruined the course, creating makeshift shortcuts and obsticals as searing chunks of steel and concrete rained from their holes like confetti. A huge, ground-rupturing eruption totalled the last part of the track, a straight-away to a racing checkpoint, or in our case, a finish line. A series of three more explosions turned the last part of the course into a jump-for-your-life situation. We ramped one-by-one off newly made ramps from the explosion. Synchronously, we made the last jump just as an explosion tore the whole road behind us to shreds. We entered the checkpoint all at the same time. The slots leading in slowed us down to a halt as our vehicles vanished from under us. All of walked to another Garagiant except for Compa, who landed on her butt when her vehicle disappeared. She ran up to us and followed my example of "stare at the strange creature in amazement".

"Now entering Secondless City," An electronic voice said in the checkpoint. There were only a few people up and about around here, most of them doing repairs on cars and humans alike. My attention was turned back to the Garagiant when it made one of it's casual advertisement phrases. I looked to IF who tapped away at the ordering panel on the Garagiant.

"What kind of car are we going to drive now?" Nepgear asked. She tried hard to get her voice to be louder than the nearby mechanics that pounded and worked on the vehicles.

"Let me show you," IF replied, finishing up her 'work' and leaning on the side of the Garagiant. The Garagiant had an electronic display stating what vehicle it was bringing out, unlike the first one we came across. The first car looked like a sleek muscle car with a grill that covered the headlights too. It had a black and blue paint job, blue neon on the underside and a slick spoiler attached. The Garagiant labeled it as a Chrysalis Streetwise.

"I assume that's your car?" I asked.

"Hell yeah," She shot back, jumping into the car and revving the engines. The next car looked like it was built just for Nepgear. The purple and gold vehicle had a list of sleek curves that gave it an incredible look. The carbon fiber hood on it gave it flare but the 'T' shaped grill was the real attention grabber.

"Chrysalis...Drivetrain?" Nepgear read the hologram above the car slot on the Garagiant.

"Whatcha waitin' for Ge-Ge? Get in!" Compa happily encouraged. Nepgear boarded her vessel and drove up beside IF. I waited patiently for my car to come rolling out but I was denied. Compa instead got her vehicle, a Corvega Atomicka. It was a mini-van with a pink color and a split spoiler. Just the sound of it as it rolled away from the Garagiant was insane.

"Okay, that's one of the most badass vans I've ever seen," I stated aloud. Compa clearly was happy with her choice, she ran to it and boarded it in the snap of a finger. Now for my car...

I waited a few minutes for my car, the holographic sign on the Garagiant said 'Please Wait...' but I worried that it got stuck or something. Finally my car came rolling out, but it wasn't anything I expected. The car was like a luxery car bred with a sports car. The four slick headlights, the black neon and paintjob, everything was just amazing about this car. 'Cobrath Vortex GT' The sign read above. I fled inside the vehicle, amazed at the interior of the car, so advanced and technologically advanced. I revved the smooth-sounding engine of it, feeling the power within it. I plopped Grindrix in the passenger seat and drove up next to Nepgear.

"Let's rollout!" I hollored in delight. I zoomed away into the city with the others in tow. The city was absolutely massive, skyscrapers raking the clouds, construction sites building even more of the city, and roadways creating seamless concrete racing tracks. I had a helluva time ripping the streets up but something seemed off around us. My eyes darted about frantically but nothing seemed off to me. I drifted around a corner and looked out in the distance to see Lastation, bright and tall, gleaming in the sunset.

"Lastation coming up!" I informed the others. Before anyone could say anything, an explosion rocked our ears as a nearby skyscraper just came smacking down behind us.

"Wh-What just happened?" Nepgear panicked, being the last one in our convoy and closest to where the skyscraper just fell.

"Ge-Ge! Look out!" Compa shouted over the mic. A crane just swept across the side of the road, forcing Compa and Nepgear to swerve out of the way. An apartment complex fell apart ahead of us, the splintered remains of a fallen, wooden floor making an ideal ramp onto an overhead train-track.

"Follow my lead!" I commanded, racing up onto the makeshift ramp. My car flew away for what felt like a full minute, smacking into the train tracks visciously. I couldn't believe the amount of chaos going on around the city, especially while we were racing. "What's going on? Is this some sort of terrorist attack or something?"

As I pondered, I didn't notice the red light illuminated on my dashboard. I looked briefly down at it and tempted myself to press the button under the light.

"Code!" Nepgear shouted over the radio. I looked up to see that a train was coming our way. It's bullet-like front looked demonic at this angle. I sped up and ramped off the side of the train tracks, the others doing the same just in time. That red light was still lit up on my dashboard, begging me to press the button.

"Aww, screw it," I sighed and pushed the button.

"Changing routes." A holographic message popped up next to the button.

"Get ready everyone, we're taking a shortcut!" I informed the others.

Way up ahead a bridge suspended above the road collapsed, smashing open a garage to pass through. IF started to catch up to me, passing me as I turned a sharp corner a little too late. I didn't trust her to be in the lead, but I didn't really think I'd be any better of a leader than she would. We ventured around a swerving road of alleyways and makeshift roads made of anything from collapsed semis to rooftops, all traveling at insane speeds. I was easily hitting 170 MPH with the others right behind.

Our convoy finally hit the final stretch leading to Lastation, IF still leading followed by me, Compa, and Nepgear. We thought we were homefree, but we were far from it. Cars exploded from the sides of the streets threatening to sweep us right off the road. I dodged and swerved out of the way of several cars, finding my car to be the most agile. But IF found herself in a jam just ahead of me. Trying to keep on the path, IF was nearly getting crushed by an exploding delivery truck. I revved up and shoved her out of the way, narrowly avoiding the mess.

"Be careful! We haven't come this far to get blown up!" I voiced loudly to IF.

"You don't think I'm trying?" IF shot back.

"Just saying, try a little harder!" I finished bitterly, backing off of IF's bumper.

Before IF could respond, I shut off the radio, focusing on the road ahead. Ahead of the group, I intended to trigger any further explosions to ensure safe passage for the others. I ended up in Lastation before the others even had time to see it. My car slowed and disappeared once I passed the checkpoint. Grindrix plopped right into my hand as I waited patiently for the others, examining the Garagiant here. It's yellow and brown chasis shined in the artificial light.

I wondered how much Lastation has actually changed over the years. I remembered seeing a few pictures from long ago, back when it was a very industrious and steampunkish city clouded with smog and plagued with the sounds of heavy machinery. I was sure that it wasn't gonna be in the best of shape with it being in Last Stand. More than likely, security was gonna be a bitch to clear. Everybody finally caught up, exiting their cars and meeting me over by the Garagiant.

"What the hell was all that about?" IF asked angrily, looking at me with a demon-like stare.

"What?"

"Why'd you leave us all behind without a word said?" IF loudly asked, her face twisted in questioning discontent.

"Secured the path. And I didn't want to be yelled at while doing it. You're welcome,"

"You didn't need to section yourself off from the group though!"

"I had my reasons," I said firmly.

"Now, everyone, let's calm down and take a deep breath..." Compa advised. IF backed off and relaxed, venting aloud with Compa listening intently. Nepgear walked over to me, looking at me with her innocent eyes.

"Don't let it get to you Code, she means well, but she has a different way of showing it. I'm sorry if she made you mad," Nepgear said quietly.

"Don't apologize, it's not your fault. But the least she can do is let people work their own way. I don't criticize her for her choice of strategy."

Nepgear remained silent. We walked into Lastation as a group, even though we were still a little irritated at one another. I kept my distance from IF and kept closer to Nepgear, even holding her hand at one point. Well, rather she held mine and smiled, comforting me. It was times like that, I was glad that she could be there for me. I honestly felt like a burden and even asked her if I was a couple times. She assured me that she was very happy I was with her.

We neared the Lastation Security Pass, filled to the brim with security bots and sentries. I couldn't begin to list how many weapons of war were in just that room alone. Everyone had to deposit their items into a bin to be examined by security for whatever reason, then had to pass through a metal detector before being allowed into the city. I let IF go first, who was reluctant to show them her claws. She deposited everything in the bins and stepped inside the faded metal detector. The machines hummed and whirred innocently, finishing their processes and letting IF gather her stuff and leave. Nepgear and Compa did the same, both checking out fine. Once they got to me, I grew nervous. I reluctantly laid Grindrix in the deposit tub and walked into the metal detector. Everything hummed and whirred as it was supposed to. It grew louder and louder while I was inside. Tempted to jump out of the way, I asked what was wrong. Before I got an answer, the machine short-circuited, sparks jumping around and wires coming loose.

"What just happened?" I asked looking around.

"Sir, your headphones," A nearby security guard pointed to my headgear.

I guessed that the electromagnetic frequency they gave was too much for the poor machine. Walking forward, I muttered under my breath, "Whoops."

"Just an overload. Nothing major. Someone get tech-support out here, pronto!" The man shouted to the distance. A nerdy looking dwarf with a huge beard ran over and shooed me away while he fixed it.

"You're clear sir, here's your weapon" He handed me Grindrix back, tipping his hat to me. I nodded, thanked him, and walked back with the group. I could see on the look of IF's face that she wanted to make a smart-ass comment but she kept her mouth shut much to my good luck.

The city we traveled was huge and complex, skyscrapers of the most vapid designs rising far above our collective heads, the only thing coloring their innocuous sides being the sparse lights from ash-laden windows. Chills flowed around the cracks in the big city formed by narrow streets and narrower alleyways. The streets were coated in a small layer of dirt and occasional debris, and you could hear the sounds of big industry all around. Police sirens rang, nearby artillary cannons went off with a spectacular bang, so much in the city kept the place jumping and pumping as the gears of war and industry grinded on. We walked past a list of strange stores and vendors that were so much different from Planeptune, decorated in crass, rusted designs of steel girders, bolted pipes, and hints of metallic plating resembling that of a steampunk design. Nepgear looked around in amazement, as if she hadn't ever been to Lastation before.

"We'll be sure to make time for some window shopping, but after we get this place out of Last Stand," IF said to the daydreaming Nepgear.

"Yeah, I know. Gotta focus on the task at hand," Nepgear tried to refocus herself but I caught her eyes occasionally panning the stores for goodies, hidden in part by scratches and dust on the windows. Nepgear looked enticed by the advanced hardware, cheap in price likely due to the falling economy of the nation. I didn't blame sis' for window-shopping, but I didn't think it too necessary for us to go out of the way until business was concluded.

"Hey, what're they doing over there?" Compa asked looking at a construction yard where many workers and robots endlessly labored. They pulled up a strange hologram-like menu. The workers that used it held onto it with a string, kinda like they were holding a balloon.

"Oh, I think that's one of those Pop-Up things that they use for construction," said IF.

They were able to conjure up and place entire building structures like magic and in seconds flat. I guess this was how they made their machines like they did and never ran out of materials. We walked onwards and came across the Basilicom we searched for. The streets were jammed with backed up traffic. It was hard to move around the streets we had to cross to get to the Basilicom.

"Are you a professional idiot or just a gifted amateur?" One man shouted as his bumper was rammed. His shouts were quickly greeted by five other people, stuck in the same lane as traffic quickly grinded to a halt, robust vehicles of dark shades crowding every street and boulevard of the black city. I could feel the fumes of heavy industry making me a little ill and eager to escape to clean air.

We entered the rustic Basilicom, dyed a regal black with sharp corners and blocky extensions, like the architect went with a simplistic design to save some money. Its interior just as clean as the one in Planeptune but instead of the smell of ocean breeze, this place had a sort of new car smell mixed with a scent of fresh leather.

"Is anybody here?" Compa asked, her voice moving down the middle aisle of the Basilicom. Everything inside was made of heavy-duty industrial steel. Even the stained glass window looming above the main altar was made of specially designed glass that was usually used to line skyscrapers. Near the altar, a well-dressed man showed up, silver hair following him.

"Greetings, it's nice to see you all again." He greeted us politely.

"It's nice to see you too, Kei." Nepgear said. The boy gave me a quick glance over, looking like he expected me.

Nepgear nervously pointed to me, softly saying, "Oh, sorry, this is-"

"Code Oprashunal." Kei interruped Nepgear, "You forget my specialty still. Pleasure to meet you Code, I've seen you fight before at the Coliseum." He chuckled and greeted me with a firm hand held outward.

"It's a pleasure to meet you sir." I politely shook his hand.

"I'm a female."

I tensed up a little in embarassment, uttering with a nervous breath, "Well, crap. Didn't see that coming."

"No harm done. So what brings you all to Lastation?" Kei asked, holding a pocketbook in his hand with a tight grip.

"We came as soon as we heard about Lastation being in Last Stand. Is Uni okay?" Nepgear said.

"She's been out defending Lastation from monsters. As much as she doesn't want to admit it, her power's been dwindling as of late." Kei stated to Nepgear with a stone-like facial expression.

Nepgear's expression tilted to a sorrowful worry, quickly asking, "Is she okay?"

Kei gave a subtle nod and said, "She has guards to look over her. If something should happen, she'd be brought back here immediately."

I could see Nepgear give a sigh of relief. It was good to see that their leader was taking measures, but I questioned how long Uni would really last on the field.

"Anyways, regarding our actual business here, we're here looking for Sparks needed for this." IF showed Kei the Sparkholder. Kei looked at it in confusion, eyeing the odd markings layered in a blue glow.

"The Sparkholder? Quite odd that it is here, but for the locations of the Sparks, much to the dismay of my profession, I haven't any solid information regarding the whereabouts of the Sparks," Kei frowned.

"Got any leads on strange glowing orbs around here? Anything worthy of at least a look?" I asked calmly.

"Your guess would be as good as mine. Normally, I'd have the information present right here and now, but with Lastation in this mess, I haven't been carrying out my duties of data-keeping as well as I'd like," Kei informed us. Judging by the shocked look IF gave Kei, I assumed that it's not often that Kei doesn't have needed information.

"If we get this mess under control, could you have the info for us soon?" IF asked.

"Logically speaking, yes," Kei answered, still gripping her notepad tightly.

"Do you know anything about what's causing this mess?" Nepgear asked.

"From what little time I've had to gather information, I believe our largest threat is a Concordat General by the name of Artillerain. He's down south in Bulletheaven, if our calculations are correct," Kei informed us.

A little confused, Nepgear asked, "Why is that thing attacking in the first place?"

"It's a machine programmed by the Concordat. Lastation has bad blood with that faction due to their unwillingness to cooperate. We offered them weapons in an attempt to learn from them, to which the Concordat claimed our weapons were stolen from them. This has worked out to our advantage however, as Artillerain has an expirimental targeting system that we would like from it," Kei explained without hesitation. She didn't seem like someone to cover up reasons, but I could've easily been wrong on that.

"Consider that general as good as dead," I commented. I had a good grip around Grindrix, my muscles begging for me to start swinging. All that driving earlier has made them suffer withdraw from Grindrix.

"Before you leave, I might mention that the MotorTempest racing parade has suffered little damage and would be the best route to get down to Bulletheaven. The other route we usually take straight to the city is blocked by debris and the mortar strikes are keeping us from clearing the way. And if you could bring back the targeting system, that would be worth something a little extra for the effort. Good luck everyone, I will await your arrival," Kei waved goodbye and returned to her workstation hidden deeper in the Basilicom. We left back outside where the ground shook from bombardment. A trio of well placed artillary shells pounded a force field resting just above the city with a darkened radiance. Nepgear gasped at the sight then took off for the exit, wanting to end the threat as soon as possible. I couldn't tell if she knew where she was going or not, but she was moving fast with us right on her heels. We slipped out of Lastation and into a black, expansive checkpoint where we were to enter vehicles. A Garagiant waited for us, its mechanical eyes of green tint watching us. Apparently new cars weren't needed, as we got the same vehicles we had when we rushed through Secondless City. I climbed into my sleek car and sped off through, everyone following my absolute lead while we raced out of the outskirts that were decorated with failing buildings, rendered asunder by the mortar fire. Anything from broken glass to warped girders littered the cracked interstate ahead of us. Mortar fire bombarded our path as we shot down the city roads, blowing whole highways apart in our rear-view mirrors.

"Code, is there any ramps ahead leading off the interstate? We need to get off of here, pronto!" IF asked, her voice muffled slightly by an earth-shattering blow nearby.

The view ahead was obscured by more wreckage, but I could see some kind of green sign up quickly approaching. I could only assume that was some kind of sign that we could merge onto a safer road. "There's possibly something ahead, but I'm not sure."

"Let me take lead, I'll be able to spot it," IF replied.

"Better idea, everyone take a two by two formation! IF, you're up in front with me, Compa and Nepgear, you two stay behind us," I directed, downshifting to match IF's speed.

As I'd expected there was a ragged, two-lane ramp up ahead with the MotorTempest Parade banner decorating it. IF, speaking quickly, said, "Everyone, maintain position. We're taking the ramp."

I drove down an exit ramp but almost stopped at a strange sight. The exit ramp led off to a dirt trail! My car hit the dirt and made a shifting sound, stating with a brief hologram that the tires were automatically changing treads.

"Looks like we're going off-roadin'!" I exclaimed happily, drifting around a U-bend and down to a nature trail. The others were keeping up just fine and Nepgear even seemed to be catching up to me on our nature drive. Her car seemed to take well to the woods.

"I think there's two paths up ahead, should we risk splitting up to avoid getting cramped together?" I asked.

Nepgear, chiming in from behind me, said, "I think it would be safe to split up for a little while."

I could hear IF sigh, but she agreed and took Compa down through a path parallel to the one Nepgear and I took. Eyes quickly glancing around, I could see glimpses of IF and Compa, speeding down the lane next to us, spitting dirt and gravel every which way. I made sure to keep far enough ahead of Nepgear that I didn't splatter her with tossed dirt. Between the streams we jumped and the forests of Evergreen trees we flew by, it was hard to keep up with the slipstream scenery that flashed away. Head locked into my headrest from the sheer speed, I kept my eyes focused on the dirt trails, deep tire-tread patterns etched into the surface from previous racers. The path we traveled quickly transformed from a dirt trail to a rocky outcropping, no rails to keep us in pleace with the dusty top of the cliff. Ramping from one cliff to another, Nepgear and I danced a deadly dance over top of the path IF and Compa followed.

"Code? Can we please get down from here? It's a little frightening," asked Nepgear.

As much fun as I was having with my adrenaline rush, I wasn't about to disobey the goddess. "Clear the way you two, we're coming through!"

I quickly ramped off the side of the cliff, my trajectory flawless as my car landed with a dirt-flinging, chassis rattling thud. My speed didn't drop a bit, my tires picking up right where they left off. Nepgear was hesitant to leap like I just did, but she followed right behind to the lower path that the rest of my convoy traveled on. The trees almost seemed to move out of the way just for me as they loomed over the path, sunlight occasionally poking out of their big leaves. Up ahead, I could spot a patch of steel girders poking out from the forestry that quickly lessened as we moved forward. IF and I kept in our two by two formation, focused on the path ahead that began to widen. I looked quickly over to IF and asked playfully, "Wanna race?"

"Try and keep up," IF said, much to my surprise. Her car quickly jumped forward, ahead of mine until I floored it to gain on her. Her car, despite being more muscle than speed, put up quite a race. We both were neck and neck with the checkpoint approaching fast, a mere spot of grey in the horizon.

"Odd, what's this button?" Nepgear whispered just loud enough to be heard over the communication system.

My mind torn briefly from the close race IF and I were having, I was about to ask what the problem was before I heard a rather loud scream from Nepgear, her car quickly catching up in my rear view mirror.

"I can't stop!" Nepgear shouted as she flung right past the both of us. I chuckled to myself while IF uttered something under her breath with a sigh. I could see from my car though that IF was grinning. Nepgear hit the checkpoint before either of us, IF just barely beating me to the checkpoint. By the time I was out of my car, I was shaking uncontrollably.

IF, walking past me, asked sarcastically, "What's wrong speed demon? Couldn't keep up?"

"To be honest, I think Nepgear won that race," I said in a bad attempt to brush off that I got beat.

"Code, are you okay?" Nepgear asked worried.

"I'm fine, just fine, A-OK, promise, swear, tellin' you, I'm okay!" I said without a single stutter, speaking in tongues faster than I ever knew.

"You look like you need a sedative! Here let me help," Compa insisted.

"Nononono! It's not often I get an adreneline rush like this, just let it run its course," I told Nepgear in the most calm way possible for myself at the moment. The speed from that race had me stuck in a need for speed. I was getting a bit antsy waiting in the empty checkpoint, spare racing tires and dismantled chassis scattered around the dark concrete we stood on. Splotches of oil were scattered around, staining the floor an even darker color, hardly illuminated by the faded skylights and broken lightbulbs. The whole checkpoint looked like some kind of abandoned car garage.

With a firm thump, what I assumed to be my car came out first. At least, I'm pretty sure it was my car. It was different though, steel rollcage peering through slick panels and only had a driver's seat in the middle of it. It looked like a sports car mixed in with a destruction derby car. It was heavily armored and had a pair of loaded machine guns on the sides. The holographic sign on the Garagiant labeled this car as a 'Synkro Warhammer'. I climbed aboard and moved it close to the exit of the checkpoint. Nepgear and Compa shared the Synkro Double Vision, a pair of motorcycles capable of linking together. They looked like street racers, a glass cover unfurled once they were in place, providing shelter while they raced on their motorcycles. Their tires both sparked elecricity from tesla coils mounted on their hubcaps.

"Uh, IF, I'm not too sure about driving this!" Nepgear said aloud.

"Don't worry! These motorcycles basically drive themselves!" IF had to shout in order for anyone to hear her over her car. IF drove a heavily plated muscle car titled Spinebreaker. It didn't have any brand name at all, just given the name Spinebreaker. I could easily say that it had a pretty mean rack of missle launchers on it. The thing was loud as hell though. We readied for 'lift-off' and raced straight through to the border leading into Bulletheaven, the path turning from a tropical forest to a more desert like wasteland. I noticed that as soon as I entered Bulletheaven, my HUD started to flash at the corners of my eyes. Already I had vibes of combat running through me. My HUD started giving me stats on my car, breakage rate, ammo count, stuff like that.

Before I had time to react, a suddenly appearing bandit was slammed into and torn asunder by my tires, spilling blood that shone in the bright desert sun. Compa and Nepgear swerved past it but almost wrecked when I accidentally tossed a bone at them from the bandit.

"Sorry! That was an accident I swear!" I commented.

"Hope he wasn't important to the campaign," joked IF.

Up ahead there was a small town of rusted metal plates and rotting wood, but it was far from peaceful. It looked like there was a civil war going on down there, the sound of gunfire finding it's way past the noise of my engine and smoke coming from rockets that were recently shot off. A list of bandits saw our cars heading in and threatened to scrap us, firing at us with strangely colored LMGs. I opened fire on a few of them, spraying bullets everywhere and blindly too. The guns on my car were completely inaccurate but they shot like miniguns. There were a few stragglers left but they were taken out quick by Compa and Nepgear, strolling by with their electric wheels shocking the crap out of the fallen bandits. The rocky wasteland leading into the small town was riddled with steep cliffs that made the way in quite a hazard.

"IF, we could use some support, we have enemy vehicles up ahead," I messaged IF.

"Oh, so the mighty leader finally needs his peons?" IF shot back.

"I don't need no sass woman, I need firepowah!" I replied. She shot a hailfire of missiles at them, their chassis rupturing into splintering metal chunks that scattered in the glorious light of the missile's explosion.

"Good shot, soldier!" I applauded. We entered the makeshift city of rusted irons and shoddy structuring, revving through to the last checkpoint. I was a bit disappointed that we had to leave our combat vehicles so soon, but it wasn't for nothing. I had a feeling that we wouldn't be going into the city unarmed. Heading through a bloodstained garage, there was a pitch-black door ahead with a sign above it that read "Checkpoint Armory"

"Okay Compa, I could use that sedative right about now," I said, hoping to any merciful fate that I wouldn't end up an expiriment again.

"Okay! Lemme just get my medical bag." Compa cheerily sat me down at a nearby bench with a small syringe rather than her enormous one. I could see that Nepgear looked dizzy, but made it over to IF who closed down her driving account for now.

"So, uhm, what do we have to do now?" Nepgear asked.

"We have to run around here in Bulletheaven and try to find the general. Kill him and head back to Lastation and try to get some info on a Spark location." IF reminded Nepgear. They both walked a little closer to the makeshift medical bay Compa made out of a pair of benches.

"Woah, what's going on here?" IF asked, examining the awkward position Compa laid me in.

"I ask for a sedative. She gives me the wrong chemical, again," I moaned with my body convulsing again. I shifted to where it looked like I was trying to sit on a horizontal toilet. Compa dug around again in her medical bag, pulling out different syringes and checking them. She pulls out one with a chrome-colored chemical.

"You better be sure that's the right one!" I complained looking worriedly at the strange chemical.

"I'm 200% sure this is the right one! Just hold still here," Compa stated, sticking the needle in me and pumping the fluid into me with a sickening sound. My body stiffened for a moment then relaxed as I lay in the bench calm, cool, and collected. I gave a thumbs up and laid down flat on the bench.

"Good! See, that wasn't so bad. You didn't even need any bondages!" Compa commented.

"Any what?"

"Oh, nothing! Nothing at all," Compa nervously replied. I shrugged it off and stood up, stretching my muscles and popping my bones.

"Are you feeling okay?" IF asked.

"Yup, feeling mighty fine right now. How about you?" I asked kindly.

"Well, I guess I'm alright. Anyways, let's get moving, we have a general to kill," IF got right down to business, entering the armory. I followed her in followed by Nepgear and Compa. My HUD flashed again and a class selection menu appeared.

"Okay, Code, I'm going to put you under Close Quarters. Nepgear, you'll have Long Range, and Compa will be our Battle Medic. Everyone good with that?" IF asked cryptically.

"What the goodness are you talking about?" Nepgear asked.

"Well, we're going to need to select classes for heading inside Bulletheaven. The different classes have different guns in them," IF informed. She walked over to a gun locker, put her hand on the hand scanner and opened it.

"Which class thing are you taking?" Compa asked, going to a green locker. I went over to a grey one and Nepgear picked a purple one right next to me.

"I've got Heavy Weapons," IF stated, pulling out a missile launcher. I looked behind to IF, toting her launcher and grenades around. She sat on a nearby wooden bench and fiddled with the machines. I showed Nepgear how the hand scanner worked then went to getting my weapon. When I opened the locker though, nothing but a few grenades were in it.

"Hey, where's my gun at?" I asked looking around.

"Oh, just put your axe inside it, it'll do the rest," IF informed.

I hesitantly placed Grindrix inside, thinking to myself, "How exactly did she know all this anyways? Has she really been here before or is she just winging it?"

I shrugged and put Grindrix inside. I worried as a dozen holograms shrouded her and transformed her into a shotgun with a battleaxe bayonet. I wasn't bitching about the change, but I hoped that she'd be changed back when we're done. Nepgear had trouble carrying her brown, 300 caliber sniper, mainly because she was holding it wrong.

"Here, this is how you hold it. Now remember, always treat the gun like it's loaded, because nine times out of ten it's going to be," IF started, showing her the ropes of gun maintenance before going over to do the same for Compa. I tinkered with Grindrix then walked over to a little shooting range attached to the armory. IF sent Nepgear to the range with me to practice with her sniper. It took her a while but she figured out how to work the gun but she needed to work on her aim. I fixed Shredrix to her specifications, and was just about to start practice fire when IF pulled me out of the room to let Compa take the other range. I closed the door to the range behind me as I walked into the armory and sat down on a bench next to IF

"I kinda wanted to talk to you," IF said, sitting next to me at the benches. "I'm sorry I've been a little crabby towards you."

"It's fine, don't worry 'bout it. I've been getting a little too cocky lately, and you're just afraid that's gonna get Nepgear hurt, correct?" I asked.

"Not just Nepgear, everyone. You're a little reckless if you haven't noticed."

I couldn't deny what she had said.

"Do you know why I got so mad at you back when we got to Lastation?" IF started, making shakey-eye contact. "It's because I didn't want you getting yourself killed. We're in this as a party, we want to protect you as much as you do us."

"I know how it is. I want so much to protect Nepgear, but I want you and Compa to be safe too. We both have the same intent, so let's share that together. I've got a little place for you too in my heart," I said, offering a bittersweet smile.

"I hope we can work a little better together in the future," She returned the smile.

"We will, but in my heart, you'll always be the trouble child," I chuckled.

"Is that an insult or a compliment?"

"Which one suits your personality better?" I joked. We both shared a calm laugh together. IF smiled all the way to the armory where she instructed Compa and Nepgear even more on gun usage. Nepgear was good to go and head back to the armory.

"Good to go?" I asked looking up at her, holding her weapon with pride.

"As good as I'll ever be," She commented, sitting down with her gun.

"Wait a minute," I started, pondering aloud.

"What is it?"

"Don't you use a sniper rifle in your HDD form?" I asked thinking back to the times she transformed. Her sleek weapon was always a sniper, you could tell just from the form.

"Yes actually. But in that form, I have more power than I do with the regular old me. It takes more out of me to retain that form, so I'm handling this. I can change if needed though," She replied. I supposed that was logical, but looking at her in her frail human form, I couldn't help but notice that she's more bone than skin and muscle. I made it a mental not to get her to a gym sometime.

"I think it's time we head out," IF noted. My bones were weary and didn't want to respond well, but I coaxed myself to stand up, using Shredrix as a balance. Gaining my balance, I slung Shredrix over my shoulder.

"Can we really do this?" Nepgear asked.

I clasped my hand on her shoulder and said, "We're gonna do this, whether we can or not."

She gave me a nod and we exited the armory, stepping out into the midday sun, beating down on the desert plateau of rustic towns and upturned ruins. The cliffs and rocks that dotted the way ahead were the only source of shade, heated shadows littering some of our lonely walk ahead. We walked on with our guns in tow.

"Stop." IF commanded, holding a hand in front of our convoy. We all looked around aimlessly, searching for the threat. I didn't see anything and it didn't look like anybody else did either, save for IF. The it hit us, a distant howl penetrating the thick silence. I pumped Shredrix and kept her aimed and steady. We said nothing, giving just hand signs to one another while we shifted about, moving from cover to cover. IF commanded that we split up for a moment, IF and Nepgear taking a nearby outlook made from rocks while Compa and I took to the rusted scrapmetal town. I kept Compa close to me, hoping that whatever was out there to attack would attack me instead of her. The worst case-scenario is that we lose our battle medic. I kept my eyes peeled for any movement, seeing nothing as I searched for enemies or even some supplies if there were any to find in the ghost town. I tempted myself to open the door leading back out into the streets, knowing better than to stick my head out, but I had a feeling the enemies we were about to face weren't armed with guns or anything of that sort.

"On the count of three." I instructed Compa to open the door. Once she did, she would stay kneeling so I can pump a shell into anything that would jump at us.

"One...two...three!"

The door flung open and the thick sun poured it's rays into my eyes, blinding me. There wasn't anything out there waiting for us though. I sighed in relief but didn't dare lower my gun. A thick sniper rifle shot blanketed my ears in sound, catching me off guard.

"Nepgear must've found 'em," I commented. As I finished, the enemy pounced on my back, it's claws digging into my skin. I somehow landed face up with the creature's mouth hissing at my face. Fenrisinges, I had a strange feeling we weren't gonna get through Pandorum without facing at least a handful of the foul things. Shredrix was dropped on the floor, leaving my hands open to grab the snapping beast's head and snap it to the side. A sickening crunch had Compa whimpering but I did what had to be done. I kicked the corpse off of me and got up to retrieve my gun. I no more than had Shredrix back in my hand and I could see the glistening green eyes of another Fenrisinge down the hallway. It charged but was brutally denied with a shotgun shell introduced to it's face. It flung back down the hallway, blood spurting from the stump where it's head used to be, spraying the walls of iron plates, the sunlight pouring through the cracks now dyed a sickly red color. I walked back into the room with Compa, stepping on an eyeball by accident and crushing it with a sickening sound.

"Hey, no time for whimpering kiddo, we gotta move!" I eased her up from sitting and hiding in the corner.

"Nepgear, cover me while I clean out the city!" I commanded over the mic.

"I'll do my best," She replied hesitantly. I took off outside, Compa in tow, and kept my eyes out and my weapon raised.

"Keep your SMG out," I commanded Compa. We walked back to back down the main street, on edge. An entire pack of them burst out of a building ahead, two shot down in an instant by Nepgear. I had to commend her accuracy, but she needed to focus on the ones ready to pounce on Compa and I. I swatted a beast away with Shredrix's bayonet, slicing its neck deep. It tasted blood and that wasn't good. It gave a blood-boiling cry and began to spurt flames from it's fur, making a coat of flame around it. I shoved Compa to the side to keep her from getting hurt, then pumped shell after shell into the foes around us. Compa provided support fire when she could, but I worried about one of those things getting her. I looked over to check on her, just for a second, and in that little second, a Fenrisinge clawed my face, burning flesh and spilling blood. I held my hand on my cheek for a second then shot down the creature. Nepgear tried her best to pin the creatures down but they kept emerging from the city. Our battle was losing fast, I was slowly losing HP, Compa was now running from a duo of pursuing predators, Nepgear was losing her accuracy and IF...well I didn't know what the hell she was doing. I took another damn slice to my leg, my reflexes slowing more and more every attack I sustain. The fire the things emitted around them boiled my blood and melted flesh little by little, and even almost set my jacket on fire.

"Code! Compa! Get down!" IF shouted over the mic, a loud shrieking noise in the distance piercing my ears enough to drive me to the floor. A carpet bomb of artillary shells just decimated half the town, wiping out our enemies effeciently. Compa didn't take any damage luckily, being away from the majority of the blast, but a collapsed building nearby had me pinned to the dusty floor. Compa worked hard to pry me out of there, healing me fast with a solvent before moving with me to Nepgear and IF.

"Iffy, you sure saved our rears down there!" Compa smiled to IF.

"Hate to be a hard-ass but that wasn't me that did that." IF replied.

"Whoever did it doesn't matter, what matters is that we have the oppurtunity to keep moving, so let's get going," I commanded, moving out with a quick jog. I didn't expect anyone to disagree...

"It's so hot," Nepgear panted as she struggled to even keep her gun up. The canyon desert we were in started to turn into a hilly mountain path, frost started to form as we climbed up. To keep ourselves going, we occasionally gunned down some small mountain creatures for food. Water was scarce unless you melted it from the ice caps higher up. The good thing was that the fresh mountain breeze was quite refreshing and we had a high view in case of any mountain bandits. While Compa checked random plantlife to see if it was poison, I'd gun down the occasional charging bear or pissed off beaver. Nepgear really got a hang on her sniping, taking down birds right out of the sky with well placed shots. And just like her airheaded tendancies would infer, she would often forget where the dead birds landed.

"I think it would be smart to take a short break," Compa suggested as we entered a hillside forest grotto. The trees were shady, smelled nice, and even had some Glowgrass to eat.

"Can we? Please?" Nepgear asked with a pitiful look aimed at IF, our current leader.

"Yeah, it wouldn't be a bad idea at all. Let's rest," IF set her rocket launcher down at a nearby tree stump. We all deposited our weapons at the same stump and took a rest, lying down side by side on the grassy field. The ground felt cold, but we weren't complaining. It was comfy and didn't have any insects crawling about it. The clouds moved gently through the deep blue sky and the wind gently rustled the trees around us. It really was nature at it's finest. Too bad the bliss was temporary. We couldn't wait too much longer, Lastation could fall apart in not even minutes. Still, it was nice to just lay around for a while and enjoy the sky's splendor.

"I wonder what Histoire's up to?" Nepgear asked.

"She's probably worried about us. Either that or she's working hard," Compa replied.

"Nah, if she was worried, Nepgear would've got a call from her to check up on us," IF said.

"I'm surprised she hasn't called, actually," Nepgear said while she pulled out her phone. A distressed look popped up on her face, followed by a look of embarrassment.

"Let me guess, she has called. You just had your phone on silent," IF guessed, looking at Nepgear with a look of worry.

"She's called about thirty seven times now. Oops," Nepgear sheepishly closed her phone and stowed it away. Our break was about over, one by one we retrieved our weapons and continued moving out. The trails grew more and more narrow and even more dangerous as we edged along the side. At one point we not only had an angry pack of hornets chasing us down a narrow pathway but we also had a trio of mountain bandits shooting at us too.

"That's it! I'm gonna crush you so badly that the player's will think you're dwarves!" IF snapped, breaking the fourth wall as she unleashed a full rocket salvo down into the deep ravine the bandits shot from. They were dead before their bodies even hit the ground. The hornets were blown away entirely by the rocket's trails, only a few left, to which they left us.

"Good kills, good kills." I applauded IF as I edged along behind her. She just grumbled, still aggravated at them for almost making her lose her balance and definitely making her lose her patience. Finally the narrow part was over and we had a ruined city in sight, half of it wrecked just from Artillarain sending his salvos down constantly. There wasn't any break to be found in this mess of chaos. Nobody was on our side, pink airships floated about transporting alien troops, enemies had every corner of this city taken. From high atop the mountain cliffs the city looked like the apocalypse itself just conquered this land.

"We should get going before it get's late. Be careful though, these cliffs look really super steep," Compa noted, the first to step foot off the cliffs. I put Shredrix's battleaxe bayonet to good use in getting down to the ground. Occasionally her grip on the rock as she grinded down would slip, but I'd always catch myself before I fell to my death. IF had no problem getting down with me. If I didn't know any better, I would say she was trying to race me down. I hesitated to speed my descent though, Compa and Nepgear might slip and it didn't take much fall damage to break a person's spine. One by one we hit the solid ground, a small forest of evergreens being the only thing separating us from the city limits. IF stopped dead in her tracks and looked around, then started walking again.

"What was that all about?" I asked.

"I could've sworn I saw some kind of monkey-dog thing hopping around over there," IF replied, moving on with us.

"I saw it too. It looked kinda cute but I could be wrong on that," Compa commented.

"What are they all fighting about up there?" Nepgear asked, pointing to a group of little alien critters that looked like really skinny bird people. They had glowing translucent shields and little human SMGs in hand. They were skirmishing about something. What it was I couldn't see yet. A moment later they kicked down a human slave, bickering in an unknown language to him.

"He looks hurt! We gotta help him!" Nepgear and Compa said together, both rushing off to take down the creatures. Nepgear took perch on a little rock pile and Compa took cover constantly as she moved forward.

"You guys! Dammit!" IF quietly roared, ready to make off after them.

I stopped her and said, "Let them work their own magic, besides, the less people firing means the less racket we make. The less racket we make, the less likely we'll be found."

IF silently nodded and watched with me, kneeled by a bush to mask our presence. Nepgear made the first move, shooting a failed shot at one of the bird's shields. Her aim was off but her luck wasn't. The bullet she fired ricocheted off the shield and hit another bird square in the eye. It's body slammed to the floor, startling a nearby and previously unseen group of small monkey-like things.

"Over there! That's the monkey dog thing I saw!" IF shouted with a hushed voice, pointing at the hopping little critters in the distance. Compa would take cover and spray SMG rounds over the top of the cover. Her hand wasn't doing too well of keeping a grip of the gun though, worrying me that it was gonna get taken from her. The monkey dogs were well peppered with gunfire, bleeding green blood and dead on the dirt. The birds were picked off one by one by Nepgear. Finally the group was dead and we could rush in to see if the peasant was still alive. IF and I got up from our hiding spot, brushing leaves off of us. I felt a scrape of claws going down my back and found myself under attack by one of those bird things. I pumped Shredrix and unleashed hell onto the creature's stomach, disembowling it with a putrid sound.

"Get enough blood on ya?" IF joked.

"Nah, not yet," I shot back jokingly. We rejoined our 'defective' duo and checked on the slave. He was dead by the time we got to him, but judging from the information on his dogtags, his name was John and he was the 117th of something. While Compa and Nepgear were saddened over the man's death, we had other business to take care of. The only thing we learned about the situation from the information he had on him, was that the city was infested with Concordat forces. He had a key leading into the underground shafts we could use to get closer to Artillirain, along with some spare ammo he clearly wasn't going to need. I loaded my shotgun and pumped her full.

We were at the city's entrance when we felt a strange sensation wave over us. I could feel my conscious fade for a minute. The same fate befell the others too. When I came back, I noticed that I could see my own body! I could actually see the back of my body!

"Wh-wh-what just happened?" Nepgear asked, feeling her body to make sure she wasn't dead. She could feel it alright, but she could see it, just like-

"A third-person perspective..." IF commented.

"Is that some kind of disease? I don't remember reading anything about a third-person perspective," Compa wondered.

"It's like the games, you know, where you can actually see yourself as you moved around." IF tried her best to explain it. Having the quickest control over the strange shift, Nepgear moved towards the hidden sewer grating that unlocked from the key we took from John. She peered her head in for a moment to see where the ladder was and immediately pulled out.

"Ge-Ge, what's wrong?" Compa asked, pulling Nepgear gently away from the sewer.

"That smell, it's horrible!" Nepgear exclaimed with little breath.

"I think I have some medical masks in my bag here..." Compa dug around in her medical bag frantically. She pulled out four masks, white with little bands on them. Each of us slipped one on and moved down the ladder. It was dark but our guns had mounted flashlights. Our beams of light penetrated the darkness that made it hard for even the enemy to see in. We had the drop on most every single enemy in these sewers, what few there were.

"Everybody doing alright?" IF asked as she led us.

"It's still hard to get used to not seeing with my own two eyes," Nepgear said. Her voice echoed loudly down the sewers, even with it muffled by her medical mask.

"Don't worry, I think we're almost there," IF replied. There was a tunnel up ahead leading out, seperated by a door leading outside. IF pressed her ear to the door and could hear enemies moving around outside of it.

I figured that while she was listening to the incoherant chatter outside, I was going to sneak away to relieve myself of a much needed burden right quick.

(+_*_+)

"Okay, I think it's safe to open the door, just stay back in the shadows and keep your voice down," IF advised as she creaked open the door.

"Do we have a plan or something?" Nepgear whispered.

"No, but I don't think it's gonna hurt to make one," IF replied. A gust of wind slammed the door against the brick wall of the sewer, scaring the group until they regained their speech.

"Okay, it looks like there's a pack across the street here. Looks like three monkey dog things and a couple birds. If we take them out, their position is hidden by tall buildings that can mask us for a while, at least until we form a better plan. I can see the Artillarain from here, so that's a good sign," IF started, making notes on one of her cell phones, silently updating the team's HUDs.

"Compa, I want you to blind fire your SMG at them to kinda scatter them, we don't want them to group up any. Nepgear, I want you to make a sniper's nest out of that car. Both of the doors on your side are open to protect you while you snipe through the inside of the car," IF continued. Compa and Nepgear nodded silently, reloading their guns.

"Code, you'll head in with me to wipe out strag...wait, where's Code?" IF asked.

"Alright guys, let's do this. LEEEEROOOOOYYY JEEENNNNNKIIIINSSS!" I shouted as I barreled forth guns blazing, leaving the group in the dust.

"...what the goodness, he just ran in," Nepgear whispered with widened eyes

"Uh, uh, crap, get out there, try to keep order!" IF commanded, chasing after me. In a bout of energy, I pumped countless shells left and right into the foul creatures. They screamed loudly and ran about in a scatter. Shell after shell I ravaged and ruined their puny bodies, feeling all my adreneline fade as I swept up the last of them. Compa didn't even get a clip out by the time all of them were dead. IF and the rest rushed over to me. I leaned casually on a wall and reloaded my shotgun, one red cylinder at a time.

"What the hell was that?" IF asked, clearly agitated. Compa peered out from our little alcove to see if Artillarain saw us. She confirmed that he was still unaware.

"That was me finishing off a group of little Concord bastards," I stated.

"Who's Leroy?" Nepgear asked. I chose to not answer that question for the moment. Compa still watched Artillarain, IF was talking to Nepgear, and I was performing maintenance on my rifle. I knew the first rule of gun owning well: Keep them maintained, or they will jam.

"What on Gamindustry compelled you to run out like a bat outta hell?" IF asked calmly, trying to pry a decent answer out of me to help cool her rage.

"I believe that the sound of racking the pump of a shotgun is universally recognized as 'kiss your ass goodbye'. Do I need anymore clarification than that?" I sassed to her. She shrugged, sighed and relaxed herself while Nepgear spoke disarming words to get her calmed down and focused again. "Anyways, let's forget about that, none of us are dead so there's no need to worry. Right now, we need a plan on how to take down this bulky tin can." I suggested. I took a look at the beast while Compa addressed any wounds on the others. The machine walked around rarely, constantly fired it's deafening cannons, and took up residence at a crushed park. Different Concordat soldiers kept the machine well fueled constantly and checked it's vital systems every ten to fifteen minutes. The giant mech was a little frightening. His armor was thick and he looked like a centaur-like mech, four legs of steel gleaming blood red in color. His artillary cannons were at least roughly the length of buses and the width of a sewer pipe.

"I think those birdy-thingies are keeping him alive. Maybe we should aim for those?" Compa suggested.

"Nepgear, do you think you could pick them off?" IF asked the girl sitting next to her on the concrete floor. Nepgear hesitantly nodded and made the first part of our plan official. Now to decide on how to take out the actual monster ahead of us.

"Is it sentient?" I asked Compa, sitting next to her now.

"What's that mean?"

"Is it intelligent?" I tried again.

"Cody, that's a mean thing to say!" Compa scolded me.

"My name's Code, not Cody, and we're gonna have to know this stuff if we're gonna take it down."

"I don't know really. It doesn't seem like it has a brain," Compa finally gave me my answer.

"If anything, it just has a targeting system," I mumbled to myself. In the distance it seemed that somebody had already opened fire on the beast. A rigid SMG and a shotgun could be heard in the distance along with a revving buzzsaw. We all peered outside to see a group of familiar faces churning ammo into Artillarain.

"Kill-stealers!" I complained, tempted to go out and start trying to kill Artillarain before they could. IF and Nepgear held me back.

"Let them waste their ammo, then we'll waste ours," Nepgear advised. I couldn't argue with her.

"D13 y0u b4574rd!" A distant shout cried. Bullets bouncing off steel was a common sound for a while now. Minutes went by and it didn't sound like they had won yet. The screeching of Artillarain's mortars pierced the sound barrier and shook the earth with explosions that I expected had the Faith Breakers at least injured. Compa and I peered out together and saw that Overkill was wearing down fast and so was Headshot. His obscenities were starting to grow louder than his shotgun as more and more Concordat attacked him in defense of their General.

"I think we should give them a hand right about about now," I noted. IF actually agreed with me and we silently snuck onto the field, adding our own ammo-based input on the fight.

"Get the hell outta here you stupid ks'ers!" Headshot mouthed, firing a shot at my feet. I ignored his comment and continued pounding shells into Artillarain. Sparks flew from it's dented and shredded armor now but that didn't stop it from firing. More and more mortar shells knocked us on our feet and even knocked Overkill into submission. I let loose my last shell, point-blank into the back of the mech, opening a gaping hole in it.

"IF, shoot the core!" I shouted as I rolled away from the mech. She obeyed by firing a salvo of rockets at it. Missing her first few shots, she reloaded her clip, grumbling about the third-person perspective that ruined her aiming. While she was busy doing that, the Artillarain quickly aimed at me, the one that just opened up its weak point.

Driven by pure instinct, I shouted to the others, "Duck!"

A massive arm from the Artillarain swept just above our heads before it went back to firing shells and dealing with the Faith Breakers. While it was busy, IF tried again, launching another salvo of rockets that blew its prime core to shreds. The machine hiccuped multiple times, arms falling limp as multiple explosions fragmented the creature. It fell to the ground with a thud, disappearing into thin air to the Graveyard. I worried about what monstrosity would be born from the thing in the Graveyard but that wasn't my problem at the moment. There were items in between our groups that both of us would like to have. The Concordat all fled from here and the buildings around us casted looming shadows that made the park look like the Coliseum. I took a threatening step forward but was stopped.

"Code, Nepgear's hurt!" IF shouted, trying to keep me from running for the items. One of them, a Strength-Gate, was standing out there like it was taunting me.

"Don't even try it, we're the victors of this battle, we deserve our reward," Overdrive coldly, and ignorantly, stated from across the park. I looked back at Nepgear, injured from a falling piece of concrete from a nearby building, pinning her down. I forced my utmost strength onto the debris, brutally thrust the piece of concrete off of her and scooped her up in my arms.

"What're you doing?" She asked curious. Headshot, carrying Overkill, ran off with Overdrive who had the Strength-Gate in his arms. I felt my rage pump into my veins. Then that rage turned into adreneline that had me sprinting faster than a car could drive. IF and Compa had a tough time following me through the alleys and tunnels of the fallen city. It was a real bitch trying to run while jammed in third-person, but once we were out of the city, my vision came back to me in the form it should be in. Of course though, that didn't stop me from running.

"Will..you just..give up already?" Headshot asked, losing breath and fast. I ran so far ahead that IF and Compa were still in the third-person barrier. Up ahead I could see a certain steel building that served as both a savior and a curse. A checkpoint up ahead had given the Faith Breakers a set of wheels that had them speeding off in seconds. Lucky for me though, I had snatched IF's license way back when we were in the armory. I grabbed ahold of my speedster I raced in Secondless City with, laid Nepgear gently in the seat and raced off. I could feel Grindrix change back to her original form on my back, and Nepgear lost her sniper as we left the checkpoint, our remnants from combat gone.

I left IF and Compa a little present before I left though, didn't want them to get left too far behind. They probably both think I'd finally snapped or something, not that it mattered much at the moment. My speedster was racing neck and neck with Overdrive's camo-colored corvette. The highway we raced on was charred and broken from constant mortar assaults but it held us up long enough for me to shove Overdrive off the road and into a chasm that I followed him into. His vehicle tossed and turned until he stopped at the bottom with his car upside down. He crawled out halfway before stopping, the Strength-Gate rolling out of his car. I ramped my car smoothly into the chasm and parked it. Nepgear had already passed out from either blood loss or panic. Either way she was out. I looked down at Overdrive, pinned and helpless, then picked up the Strength-Gate, a strange golden gyro-like sphere that was once a common artifact of Trickstar. The side was dented on it though, hinting that it might've been broken.

"My rank's gonna go down thanks to you. Hope your happy," Overdrive said, coughing up a little blood.

"Dude, just shut up about your stupid rank and hold still," I said to him, exerting the last of my remaining strength to flip his car up and help him get back inside so he could hit the emergency return.

He gave me a very estranged look hidden by his ghillie helmet.

"Take into consideration of what's more valuable next time, admitting defeat or dying to win," I said to him as I warped him back to the checkpoint. I hid as Overkill and Headshot flew by on their roadster, then took a close look at the Strength-Gate under the descending sun. I revved back up to the highway to let Compa and IF know where we were when they caught up. Didn't take more than a minute of waiting on top of my car to spot them driving forward. IF got out of the car and looked as pissed off as a demon could get.

"Before you go shouting, the thing they had could've saved alot of lives back at Lastation. I didn't have time to wait. But that doesn't matter now, probably never did. Nepgear's in the passenger seat, sleeping soundly," I let both of them know grimly. I secretely fiddled with the Strength-Gate behind my back until I hid it away it my inventory.

"Just tell me why you ran off with her when she needed medical attention?" IF asked bluntly.

"If I just abandoned her, I would be even worse of a brother to her than I am now."

IF gave me a glare then smiled. I smiled back and hopped down, watching Compa heal Nepgear in seconds flat. I didn't know why IF worried so much if Compa had a Cure-All potion for every occasion.

"Just out of curiosity, did you get the targeting system that Kei requested?" I asked while Compa healed Nepgear up.

Nodding firmly, IF said, "It's with my right now. I imagine Kei will give us a decent reward for it, but I don't see what she could possibly need it for. Seems incompatible with their current setup."

"So how could that Gate thing have helped Lastation's losses?" Compa asked, packing her medical bag up.

"It's used to transition lost souls back into their former bodies. At least, a certain amount of them, four to be exact. Still, Lastation could've benefitted from it," I informed her. Normally I didn't know squat about artifacts, but that was something I learned quite easily from eavesdropping on conversations at the Coliseum. I could tell that IF wasn't mad at me for aiming for a reason like that.

Once all was taken care of, it was smooth sailing back to Lastation. I was totally ready for dinner, a break from action, and a nice long nap. Cars revved up and ready to go, we saw a very wide gap where there was once a ramp leading down to Lastation. I had a feeling that was originally the way back to the city behind us, but it looked too decimated to travel down. We'd be ramping it back down, using that as our typical cheap-way-to-get-back-to-the-start-point. I gave the signal and ramped off the cliffside, time slowing down as my stomach shot up to my throat. A tingly feeling went through me as I achieved 0G, floating effortlessly downwards in a car that likely wasn't meant for stunts in the first place. The thud that came from my car probably popped my eardrums, but at least I made it. IF and Compa, gleefully falling still, caught up quick.

"That was pretty fun!" exclaimed Compa, driving right behind IF.

We parked our vehicles and walked back into Lastation, through the same way we left from so that we could have an easier time getting back to the Basilicom. Nepgear was finally awake, though leaning on me for a few minutes. IF explained things to her to get her caught up with what was going on. Nepgear wasn't mad at all about what I did, but she was feeling a little woozy still. I kept her up while she regained her balance.

On the way there, as we crossed a few streets, a friendly face come across us. Her hair was a jet-black and somewhat short. Her dress was a little dusty and adorned with black and white armor pieces, along with the rest of her clothes. And the moment she saw Nepgear, she had this odd half-smile, half-frown, like she was a bit embarassed to see us.

"Uni! It's great to see you again!" Nepgear cheered as she caught up with the girl.

It was when I heard her name that I recognized the girl as the Lastation CPU. Naturally, I stiffined up a little, Grindrix resting over my shoulder proudly.

"Nepgear, why do you have to be so loud every time you see me?" Uni said playfully, "It's good to see you too."

"If you want to tell Kei, we solved your little cannoneer problem," IF added in.

"She already knows. Thanks for the help, but don't think we couldn't have solved it on our own. We actually sent out another troop to help you but I haven't heard from them since," Uni replied. We walked slowly back to the Basilicom, trying to keep our voices loud enough to be heard over the loud cars driving around everywhere. Uni proceeded to look over to me and asked, "Are you the new member, Code?"

"Yes ma'am. I'm Code Oprashunal. Pleasure to meet you, CPU Black Heart."

"Formal, I like it. Pleasure to meet you as well. I've heard of your Coliseum fights."

Maintaining my stoic appearance, back straightened and head held up properly, I said strongly, "It seems a lot of people have."

"Code, you get any stiffer and I'll mistake you for a steel girder," IF commented.

Nepgear and Uni both giggled, Uni saying calmly, "Relax. You're amongst friends. I do appreciate your formality, it's good to see someone that knows their place."

"Uni, you sounded like Noire there for a second," Nepgear joked. Uni's face turned a little pale, like that was an unstable topic to tread. Uni's face quickly lightened though as she giggled slightly, letting the touchy subject go.

(+_*_+)

"Tri-Shrex?" I asked. Kei nodded her head slowly while helping Uni readjust her armor.

"I've only heard rumors, but he's a so-called God of Ruin that emerged after Ruination was established," Uni added.

"So that's what you think has the Spark of Creativity?" IF asked, sitting next to Nepgear at the meeting room of the Basilicom. Again it smelt like fresh leather in here for some odd reason.

"We're 99% sure that this is the creature that's overtaken the Spark," Kei reinstated.

With that said, I quickly stated without a hint of hesitation, "Cool, let's move out then."

"I wouldn't reccomend just rushing out into Ruination. You'll find it very very difficult to even move around there. That's why I've located you a guide to help you through. She'll only be with you guys up to Lowee, but she'll be a good guide for you all," Uni whistled loudly, echoes bouncing about in the room. A young girl with short blue skirt, a pink and white tank top, a brown waist-jacket, and an assault rifle around her back come into the room.

"This here will be your guide. Please try not to get her killed," said Kei, moving out of the way to showcase the newcomer.

"Sup, chumps. My name's Valvina, but you can just call me Valve," She casually introduced herself, "I'm one of the top zombie hunters of Gamindustry and one of the best scavengers you'll ever see. I'm also your one and only guide to the legendary pokem...er...beast, Tri-Shrex"

"Pleasure to meet you Mrs. Valve," Compa nodded happily to her.

"Welcome to the fruit loop bin." IF joked.

It took me a moment to realize where her name came from. I asked her, "Your name sounds familiar. Didn't you write the Dread Dictionary?"

"Yuppers! That was one of my best work!" said Valve, full of vigor.

I smiled and said, "I like you already."


	8. Fun Shall Overcome

"If I were you, I'd take a couple days off to relax. You probably need to stock up on supplies anyways, right?" Uni asked, leading us to a nearby hotel. She even had the hotel manager let us stay, free of charge. I wasn't about to bitch, and I don't think anyone else was either.

"Thank you so much, Uni!" Nepgear cheered.

Uni smiled and said, "It's nothing. What're friends for?"

The man behind the counter at the hotel handed us our key, but we headed out before going to our room. It was time for some shopping!

"It's been a while, but I'm actually excited to go shopping," I noted, looking around at the black but vibrant shopping district that spanned half the city.

"It's alot of fun around here, but it's a real pain if you're here on a weekend. I can't even get around!" Uni said. There weren't too many people around, this being a Thursday and all, so we could luckily do our shopping without disturbance. Valve already left with Compa to discuss medical items and see what medical books Lastation had to offer. The clock ahead in the center of the shopping region was illuminated with blue digits, claiming it to already be going on ten o'clock. I never knew why, but I always liked shopping at night. The lights that illuminated the districts always made me feel at ease.

"It's the same over at Planeptune. It's still nice though to see all the people up and about, even though most of them have their noses buried in their handhelds." IF added in, playing with one of her phones.

"Can't really blame 'em, there's alot of good games coming as of late. Of course, Lastation's being the best," said Uni, that pride of hers almost suffocating.

"They're high quality, but anymore they're all the same game no matter where they're from." IF replied. We entered the vapid grocery store to pick up some eating materials for the road. The interior had an odd smell of fresh plastic instead of fresh produce. The steel girders above had multitudes of security cameras and a few alarms hidden around the support pillars of concrete and steel. Black, wrought-iron stands held a lot of unfamiliar produce and groceries, most of which looked extremely fresh.

Honestly, I wanted to go over to the hardware store, but I didn't quite trust Uni, whether she was the CPU or not. I heard a long time ago they were the best of friends but they split up once they had a spat over trying to combine Trickstar with Ruination and Speed Haven. Ever since then, Uni considered her Lastation to be better than Planeptune and not in need of them anymore.

Uni sighed and said, "Normally I wouldn't care but that lack of creativity is screwing with my shares and I can't even hardly gain the power to transform anymore."

"Hopefully when we find the Spark of Creativity, your land will go back to normal," Nepgear said, looking over to Uni. Nepgear examined a jug of milk, looking for dents and checking the expiration date when something caught her eye in it. She stared blankly at it for a solid minute.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked Nepgear, giving her a tap on the shoulder.

"I'm fine!" She zapped herself back to normal.

I had a feeling that she was having another vision, but I didn't pry, instead going about my business. I no more than took a step away from her and my eyes caught a magical sight. I walked over to the nearby shelf, decorated in a multitude of soda cans and bottles, refridgerated individually, and I plucked a glass bottle from the shelf.

"What's that? Is that...alchohol?" IF shouted loud enough for half the store to hear.

"Oh the precious. I never thought I'd see you again," I mumbled under my breath. IF snatched the bottle from my hand and examined it closer.

"Ohh, its...whatever it is. I ain't got a damn clue." IF gave me my bottle back.

"It's sarsaparilla! This is like...the best carbonated drink you'll ever taste!" I stated enthusiastically, the bottle clutched to my chest melodramatically.

"I'm with him on this, that's the best soft drink Lastation has," Uni grabbed a bottle with me. I stocked myself with multiple bottles, knowing myself to have plenty to pay with considering the sale I made selling the Strength-Gate and stealing it back. Gotta love having a high sneak level, good thing that moron was too busy chasing someone out of his store to notice that his gate was gone before he even noticed. He wasn't gonna need it anyways. Though I had to make a note to get the Strength-Gate fixed, preferably by someone that dealt with artifacts before.

"A long time ago Planeptune offered samples of this stuff but they never sold it for some reason. I'll tell ya this though, it was like little angels were dancing on my tongue. I can't drink enough of this stuff!" I rushed to the express counter, waiting impatiently for the guy ahead of me to finish paying. Once they were gone, I bought a grand total of twenty four bottles, all held in my meager hands.

"Well, time to deposit these at the hotel room, I'll catch ya'll later," I notified Nepgear as I ran off.

"He's...strange." Uni bluntly said as I fled from earshot.

[+-o-+]

"So if someone finds themselves stricken with radiation poisoning, you aren't supposed to pour bleach on the wound?" Compa asked Valve. Both of them lounged about at the hotel room, snacking occasionally on what was in the fridge to eat. Compa studied away at dealing with Ruination's enviroment and enemies.

"No, that isn't applicable at all out in that hellhole. You're best bet against rad poisoning is a mixture of anti-paralysis potion and anti-venom. Don't need alchemy for that one, just mix and bam, you're done," She educated bluntly. She never seemed to stop checking on her rifle though, looking like she was tending to a needy baby. Every two minutes she'd be doing maintanance on it, checking the clips, adjusting the sights, everything.

"Are you okay, Mrs. Valve?" Compa asked.

"Nope, I'm paranoid as hell right now, comes with my personality," Valve replied, finally putting her gun down on her bed.

"That's probably not good. Do you want me to make you some tea or something to calm down with?" Compa innocently offered.

"That sounds good I guess, go for it," Valve jittered a little from not tinkering with her gun. A sudden noise filled the room, the sound of the hotel door being violently moved. It was locked, making a rattling noise as I tried to open it. The shaking of the door pushed Valve over the edge.

"Zombie!" She shouted loud enough for people in Planeptune to hear. She grabbed her gun and shakily focused it on the door.

"Someone wanna let me in? The door's locked," I yelled into the door.

"Oh...it's just that one kid," Valve lowered her gun and walked over to the door to unlock it. She stepped out of the way but still held her gun with a tight grip just in case. I didn't even notice that she locked the door again behind me.

"I'm home, Compa!" I shouted into the kitchen.

"Welcome home, Cody! Would you like me to make you some tea too?" Compa asked.

"Thanks, but I'm good," I replied as I stored my sarsaparilla in the fridge. As hard as it was going to be for me, I had to wait for the sarsaparilla to get cold.

"So why'd you think I was a zombie?" I asked confused, sitting on the couch next to Valve.

"Yeah, I'm a little paranoid. Better safe than sorry," Valve replied. I shrugged and leaned back in the couch, Grindrix resting against the side of the couch, her blade resting on my arm. Compa returned to the living room with tea for Valve. It smelt of relaxing herbs and mints, the fresh smell lulling me to sleep a little just from the scent.

"So how was the marketplace?" Compa asked, sitting at a recliner near us.

"It's a little empty, but the stores were well stocked. I didn't get to run around very much though, I wanted to stay close to Nepgear," I replied. Already I suffered from sarsaparilla withdraw, my tongue rasping inside my mouth, silently begging for more of that luscious drink. I swallowed hard and took a deep breath. For a while, there was an odd silence, like something bad just happened.

"Cody?" Compa asked, using that silly name for me.

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go for it."

"Are you in love with Nepgear?" She asked.

Emotions aside, I did as a brother, not as a lover.

"Uh..well..how to put this? I love her as a brother, nothing more." I replied. A little sweat drop fled down the back of my neck.

"Hmm, I see..." Compa quietly uttered, much to my dismay. I had bad vibes coming from whatever she had working in her head.

"So, you pop her cherry yet? Get the deed done? Screw the pooch?" Valve asked vulgariously.

"What? Nononono, that's off limits for me! I mean, she's Planeptune's CPU! No way on Gamindustry would that ever happen!" I shot back to her. I could feel my heart pumping a little faster.

"So you don't really love her? Is it her snoring at night that you don't like?" Compa asked.

"No, I love her, just not that way! And her snoring isn't that bad, at least, I don't think so anyways," I could feel the awkwardness levels rise quickly. The situation wasn't looking good at all.

"Come on man, there's gotta be at least a little chemistry there!" Valve added.

"Nou! I don't think either of us wanna lose our purity yet or ever! She's way out of my league anyways."

"Oh I get it, she's playing hard to get with you! Come on man, you gotta at least try!" Valve pressured me.

"Uh-uh! I wouldn't even be a good boyfriend for her anyways! Compa'd probably do better than I would!" I replied, my reaction speed increasing every time one of those two made an absurd statement.

"Mrs. Valve, don't worry him so much. I just wanted to see what he'd say, don't push him into doing something stupid. That's Neptune's jo-" Compa cut herself off before finishing that heart-wrenching phrase. "Cody, could you do me a really big favor?" Compa asked.

"Sure, whatcha need?"

"I wanna test this anti-radiation poison and see if it has any ill side effects. Would you be kind enough to test it for me?" Compa asked, trying to use her pink puppy-dog eyes to lure me in.

"Sorry, but I ain't gonna be a test dummy for one of your crazy chemical concoctions!" I shot back. No way on our fair Gamindustry was I gonna be subject to another one of her crazy-ass expiriments!

"Oh, come on! It's not gonna hurt a bit and I promise to give you a big colorful band-aid when we're done!" Compa pulled out her enormous syringe and polished it up with rubbing alchohol. By that time, I already had the window open and was well on my way to jumping out. Compa panicked, but was too late. I was off the ground and quickly running away.

"Aww, poo! He got away," Compa moaned, still looking out of the open window.

"Me thinks he's afraid of you," Valve added her input in. She sipped occasionally on her tea, which did help her with playing with her gun, but now she was paranoid about checking her phone every five minutes.

"Well, maybe IF or Uni might help. Are you sure this works?" Compa asked, looking again at the lime-green liquid in her giant syringe.

"Yeah, I take a capsule for it once a week." Valve replied, pulling out a tray of pills stored neatly for every week from inside her jacket.

"Oh, I didn't know they come as capsules," Compa said.

"Yeah, you probably should've told that to Code before he did his leap of faith out of the window," Valve stowed her pills away and continued to check her phone.

[+-o-+]

"I think that should be enough. What do you think Iffy?" Nepgear asked.

"We should have enough to live on. How about you, Uni? Think it's enough?" IF asked, observing their cart.

"Oh, that should be more than enough," Uni added. They walked out with necessities for the long trip ahead of them. A lot of the stuff they had was put on their list by Valve. Neither of them doubted her knowledge about what it takes to survive, but why they needed a lufa sponge, none of them could guess.

"I wonder what Compa and the others are up to?" IF pondered aloud.

"Who knows with your party. If I hear about some kind of toxic spill or hotels getting burnt down, I think I'll know who's fault it is," Uni commented with a smirk on her face signalling playful teasing.

"Goodness! They aren't that destructive." said Nepgear.

"I didn't say they're destructive, they're just clumsy," replied Uni.

"I hate to say it, but she's got us there," IF chimed in. They walked through the calmer streets of Lastation, the night giving the town a peaceful aura and the lights scattered amongst the roads gave the town a nice glow that soothed the soul. Fewer cars were about to make noise and the town was clear of monsters. The sounds of steam spouting and gears shifting added more white noise than sheer noise at night, creating a mechanical lullaby while the busy city slept.

"Uni, why aren't we as close as we used to be?" Nepgear asked, reminiscing on days past when Nepgear, Uni, Ram, and Rom all were like a family, close to each other and helping each other at every turn.

"That's a good question. I don't know, why're you asking me anyways? We're here, having fun, catching up, why worry about the why, focus on the now," Uni replied with a bitter smile.

Nepgear smiled back and said, "You're right. I wonder if it'll be nice to catch up with Rom and Ram too?"

"I'm sure it'll be nice, but not as nice as getting to hang out with your's truly," Uni gave a snooty look that IF and Nepgear knew her by. They all chuckled, but their laughter was cut short when a strange noise attracted their attention. It was like a moan but much deeper and shorter and came from an alleyway. The distant sound of shuffling feet was disorganized and came from nowhere but that dark alley.

"What was that?" IF primed her claws.

"Is it a...zombie?" Nepgear asked.

"No, it can't be. The guards would never let one slip in," said a nervous Uni. It was times like that Uni wished that she had her hidden pistol. The moaning grew louder until out of the shadows came a dark but familiar figure.

"Code! Dammit, you scared the hell out of us!" IF shouted.

"Ack! Not so loud!" I replied, holding my head. A huge bruise covered half of my forehead and was purple enough to be seen in the dark. A small stream of crusted blood glistened in the distant street light.

"Code, what happened?" Uni asked, helping keep me up by offering me her shoulder.

"I nailed my head on the concrete trying to escape from Compa. She wanted to test some kind of paralyzing potion or some crazy thing like that so I jumped out the second floor window to escape. I kinda screwed up my landing though," I explained.

"Are you gonna be alright?"Nepgear asked, also helping me walk.

"Yeah, just a bruise, I feel more sorry for the people that're gonna have to look at this thing," I tried to jest.

Nobody found it too funny so I just kept my mouth shut until I was back at the hotel. My vision faded in and out a few times, black haze filling my sight, but I made it. At least, until I was plopped on the bed and passed out upon contact. I needed some sleep and boy did I deserve it. I just prayed that I didn't end up an unwilling donation to Compa's twisted cause of "science".

[+-o-+]

"Is he gonna be okay?" Nepgear asked looming over Code. Uni had recieved a call from Kei telling her to return to the Basilicom so she said her farewells and left. Compa tended for Code, Nepgear helped her and IF looked around the mobile Guild app for monster hunting jobs they could do for some spending cash. Valve was well asleep on the couch, twitching occasionally in her sleep for some reason.

"Having any luck, Iffy?" Compa asked, applying a cold compress to Code's bruise.

"Not along monster hunting, but I think I've got another idea. I'm gonna make one last phone call to see about a last minute registration to the Tech Expo tomorrow," IF put her phone to her ear and made sure there wasn't any noise around her.

"I completely forgot that the Tech Expo is tomorrow. What's the theme this year?" asked Nepgear.

"I think it's innovative weaponry. I'm sure it's gonna be alotta fun, I just hope Cody will be able to go too," Compa finished her last needed duty addressing Code's wound. Once she was finished, she noticed that the cap on her rubbing alcohol bottle was broken. Compa took one of the empty soda bottles of sarsaparilla and stored her alchohol in it then stowed it in the fridge.

"What are we going to enter in the expo?" Nepgear asked IF who just finished her phone call.

"I think Code's little toy there will make a great competitor in the expo," IF pointed to Grindrix, laying beside the bed to Code.

"Are you sure Cody won't mind?" Compa asked.

"He doesn't seem the type to get pissed off easily, I'm sure he wont miss it tomorrow," IF said, "Question is though, does anybody know how to work that thing?"

Both Compa and Nepgear shrugged. IF wandered over to Grindrix and picked her up with a mighty heave.

"Damn, how does he even use this thing? It weighs a ton!" IF complained, trying to keep her balance while wielding Grindrix. She looked around for the button that transforms Grindrix into Shredrix. Her hands finally wandered onto the button, shifting the whole thing into Shredrix. She almost felt natural holding Shredrix, despite her increased weight.

"Yeah, this'll work wonders at the Tech Expo," IF mumbled to herself.

"Be careful with it, I don't think Cody will be happy if it's returned broken," warned Compa.

[+-o-+]

Finally concious, I shot up in a desperate breath, looking around like I'd just come back from an underwater swim. Sweat rolled down my head and the cold compress Compa laid on my forehead flew away past the bed.

"Thank goodness your okay! I was worried," Nepgear said.

"What's wrong?" IF asked.

"I just had a horrible nightmare. I dreamt that Compa was doing some kind of evil dissection of my body and she forgot how to put me back together!" I shuddered in fear.

"How rude! I wouldn't ever dissect a living human!" Compa shot back. I stared openly at IF, who looked suspiciously guilty about something. Something didn't seem too normal about her.

"What up with you?" I asked bluntly.

"Nothing. What up with you?" IF returned.

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, there's a giant bruise on my head the size of an effin' baseball," I mouthed.

Silence. "Wonderful, I made an awkward silence. Where's my achievement?" I thought to myself. Back to the conversation on hand, I apologized briefly, saying, "Sorry, sorry, I'm just on edge from the accident."

"It's okay, you know what? How about you get some rest and maybe try to have a better dream, we'll be fine without ya for a while so get some rest!" IF said at a rapid speed.

"Well, sure, whatevs..." I laid my head back down and closed my eyes. Something still seemed off about IF, but I cared more about getting some more rest than whatever she had planned. I fell asleep in just a few minutes, weary from all the medicines that Compa gave me.

[+-o-+]

"Ah, I see you're back. I'm sorry to say but your reward has already been claimed," Kei informed her returned trio of failed monster hunters.

"73h h311?" Overkill shouted.

"Dude, we so kicked that things ass and there was nobody else around!" Headshot lied. Overdrive kept quiet, still torn up a little from his little wreck back in the MotorTempest Carnival.

"Not according to the other applicants. One of them even showed me the Strength-Gate they achieved from the corpse," Kei replied.

"73h h311 d00d? 1 7h0u6h7 u h4d 17?" Overkill shouted to Overdrive, glaring at him.

"I probably lost it when I crashed," Overdrive said in his defense.

"Now you two, let's not argue in here, this is a place of business not war," warned Kei.

"l00k 47 u, c4n7 3v3n h0ld 0n70 4 d4mn 70y!" mocked Overkill.

"Hey, you have alot of room to speak, you were the only one that got knocked out," Overdrive calmly shot back.

"1 d1d n07!"

"Did to."

"1 fuck1n d1d n07!" Overkill shouted, making that high pitched noise again that sounded like a highly pissed off five-year-old.

"That's it! All three of you, out!" Kei shouted, pointing to the door.

"You'll regret this you punk! We'll see how much more of a reward we get from burning your whole damn town to the ground!" Headshot warned, running out of the Basilicom and into their street car. They revved the engines loud and pumped music out of it that cracked nearby windows and shoved some passing cars off to the side.

"It looks like IF will have her chance to enter the Tech Expo after all," Uni noted, standing behind Kei.

"I'll call her immediately."

"No, I'll call her, let me handle it," said Uni, pulling her Lastation Vital out and calling IF with it. A few rings later and IF picked up.

"Hello?" IF asked.

"Hey, we've got something you can do in return for letting you into the Tech Expo as a late entry. Those stupid Faith Breakers are loose in the city and they're not happy," Uni informed.

"And you want us to take them down?" IF asked expectantly.

"Only because Kei requires a fair trade for letting you in. Lastation is perfectly capable of defending itself against it's own problems!" again Uni defended her pride of Lastation.

"Yeah, yeah, so do you know where they're at?" IF asked.

"Hell if I know! Just listen in to their loud music, you'll find them. Call me back when you're done," Uni hung up on IF.

[+-o-+]

"Alright everyone, looks like we've got a seek-and-destroy mission," IF announced as she stored her phone in one of her multi-colored pockets.

"What's going on?" Compa asked, finishing her work on Code.

"Looks like we stole the reward from the Faithbreakers and they're pissed off and throwing a tempertantrum like a group of little kids. Now they're screaming obscenities and blasting obnoxious music all around town," explained IF.

"They sure are a rude group of kids," Nepgear said.

"They're not rude, they're assholes. Now let's go kick some ass!" IF got up and moved for the door with Compa and Nepgear in tow.

"Just like old times huh?" reminisced Compa.

"Just like old times! This should be a lot of fun!" Nepgear grew excited. They climbed down a fleet of stairs and out of the hotel, already hearing distant music. Their search wasn't going to take long at all. Question was though, how were they going to be dealing with them when they're riding in a car?

[+-o-+]

"Damn my head hurts...it's hard to even get out of bed," I thought to myself. I noticed that someone was playing on the Lastation console set up in the 'living room'. My vision was hazy and it was hard to keep my balance. Laying in bed too long made my body a bit stiff and hard to coordinate. Silently, the person on the couch played games, not making a sound. "Sis, is that you?" I asked drearily. I peeked over the couch to see that it was Valve, playing a zombie game. "Brushing on your zombie-slayin' skillz?" I asked, sitting down next to her. She jumped a good fifteen feet in the air.

"Careful dude, don't scare me like that!" Valve warned. She kept playing regardless, getting the most out of the game she played.

"So I take it your a Lastation person?" I asked, trying to keep a mellow conversation to help ease my tension down.

"Eh, I'm not picky when I play. If it plays games, I'll play it. I've just always grown up with Lastation so I'm used to it," Valve replied.

Thinking about it, Valve knew Lastation better than anyone. As I'd suspected, the Strength-Gate was broken, and I would need someone to fix it. When Valve took a break from her game, I asked her, "Do you know anything about artifacts?"

"A thing or two, why?"

I tossed her the Strength-Gate and she eyed it over closely. "It got beat up a little. Was wondering if you'd be able to fix it."

Valve, hardening her expression, said, "I'm surprised you got this, but it is indeed broken. I believe I know someone who can fix it though."

"How much will it cost?"

"Not a thing. Him and I go way back, he owes me a couple favors. We'll pay him a visit, come on." Valve quickly took off for the door. I had to fight to get my body to work again, Valve helping me parts of the way. We locked the door on our way out, heading down the dimly-lit halls of grey and blue.

Taking the grey, grated stairwell leading to the bright, but dreary lobby, we left for the ash-laden streets, Valve leading the way with a vigor in her gait. I asked her, "Who's this person you were talking about?"

"His name's Vice, works in engineering. Him and I went way far back, I rescued him from the Stardrain Expanse when his ship was infested with alien parasites. Boy was he pissed too, those things wanted his head on a silver platter, if you catch my drift. It was funny as hell when I pretended to lock him out of the escape hatch."

The more Valve explained, the more I questioned just what all there was to the mysterious girl. I'd only heard legends of the Stardrain Expanse, nevertheless someone that had actually come back from there.

Down the street was an aged garage, rusted to a perfect dull streak. Pipes failed in some of the upper corners, and the tilted neon above the garage read "Planetcracker Repairs" with the 'P' and 'k' flickering on and off. Inside the garage, Valve called loudly, "Vice, you in here?"

A man, clad in a brown-tinted armor and wearing a welding mask that glowed blue, rose up from underneath a futuristic hovercar, speaking with a voice muffled by his mask, "It's Visceral, and what do you need?"

"Ready to pay off one of those ten debts you owe?"

"No, but tell me what you need," Visceral replied.

Valve tossed the Strength-Gate to Visceral, who viewed it carefully from the guise of his welding mask. "Its got a dent in it, probably won't work unless its fixed."

"I think I get the picture," Visceral stated, walking to the back of his shop. While he was off in another room with Valve hot on his heels, I checked out the racer he was working on. The machine was slick and stylish, having not a wheel on it. There was a few afterburners on the underside, hinting it was probably a relic from the days of 0G racing. There was even the "2048" logo still slightly visible on the chassis.

Back already, he had the kink hammered out. I couldn't help but ask, "How'd you get that done so fast?"

"Not the first time I've dealt with artifacts."

"He's the one that taught me the Transferrance Theory. Good thing I got you off that ship, huh?" Valve teased.

"Yeah, yeah." He casually replied before going back under his machine. "You're lucky you didn't get caught up in that mess."

"You kidding me, I had the crisis figured out before you did!" Valve shot back with a grin on her face, hinting a pride about something I knew nothing of.

I couldn't help but laugh a little, uttering quietly, "That's funny."

Valve pointed down to Visceral, saying, "No, I'll tell you what's funny. Convincing brain-death down there that cars needed blinker fluid. I had him trying to find the stuff for a week!"

Visceral shouted from underneat his vehicle, "Hey, I work on ships, not cars!"

I was laughing whether he knew better or not. Even I knew better than to believe in "blinker fluid".

Done with the conversation, I thanked Visceral for his help

All this talk of artifacts had my interest. Though I questioned if anything would come of it, I asked Visceral anyways, "What was the name of the ship?"

"The UFS Nakamura. It's probably still floating in Stardrain right now," he replied, doing some quick arc welds to his machine before reaching for a trio of thick, steel cords.

I kept that information in the back of my mind as I thanked him. He seemed like a nice enough person, and if I had any further mechanical requests, I'd be sure to be back with him again.

"He's sure fun to be around," said Valve sarcastically.

I couldn't speak ill of him. He seemed a little like myself, quiet but sociable. "He's just a little quiet."

"Probably from the five years he spent in the looney bin."

I pretended to ignore that last bit.

Calmly continuing while we traversed the expansive, dark city, Valve asked, "So are you going to be testing my fabled theory?"

She already had caught on to my intended plan. I had to give it to her, she was sharp. I couldn't be too surprised though. I told her with a firm voice, "I'm not going to just test it, I'm going to make it work."

"Have fun with that. You're gonna be in for quite a hidden collectible task. I would know, I designed the theory."

"I'll take my time getting things together, but it will be done."

Valve, scrutinizing me with her shifting eyes, said with a confident smirk, "I think you've got enough soul for this one."

I took that as some kind of odd compliment. Before the silence could get too thick, I asked her gently, "I hate to ask even more of you, but could you please not mention any of this to the party?"

"I suppose I could do that much," Valve said.

I was so relieved to hear that, but I questioned if she'd hold on to that promise. Back at the hotel, we quickly settled back in, the night deepening as the hours passed. I went over to the mini-fridge, clutching the wet handle tight. Valve sat patiently on the couch, back to plaing games again already.

"You want something to drink?" I asked, searching through my sarsaparilla.

"Please and thank you?"

I cracked open two bottles of sarsaparilla and set them down on the coffee table in front of us. I took a long sip of mine and noticed a bizaare flavor. It was probably just me. Valve took a long drink of hers then shuddered.

"Somethin's up with that."

I retrieved my drink and sat back down with her. It was strange how casual she dressed, I'm too used to the eccentrically colored clothes of Nepgear and Compa. Just a blue skirt, a green tanktop and a brown half-jacket. Now that I look at myself, just an Axe-Hero hoodie, cargo jeans, and black sneakers, I really am as dull as I act.

"Wanna play? There's a spare controller," She asked.

"It's been a while since I've played this, but I think I've still got it. I'mma go for it," I grabbed the controller hidden on it's attached docking bay that wasn't too far from the system. It was already going on five in the morning, but I wasn't tired at all, and I didn't think Valve was either.

"Aww, shit, this thing's laced with something slippery," I complained, wiping my hands on my jeans.

"Biggest rule of gaming, never eat and game, you always make your controllers all nasty," quoted Valve.

"So, if you don't mind me askin' which if you do just stop me now, but is there anything you're afraid of?" asked Valve.

"Hmm...been a while since I've thought of that. If I had to say something specific, it'd probably be the cold. I hate the cold, when my house lost the heater during the coldest winter Planeptune ever saw, I was near freezing to death. I actually had snow forming in my house and icicles forming on my TV. Scared me so much to see my life fading to black by the minute," My story appealed to Valve enough to temporarily distract her from the game.

"Oh, it couldn't have been that bad," Valve said with a smirk. "Ever been in cryosleep?"

"You were in cryosleep?"

Valve, with a dismissive tone, said, "Just once. Went scouting with my buddy Kit in an abandoned bunker. We were screwing around and, just for the humor of it, I pretended this little cushioned closet was a coffin. Next thing I know, the door locks and I get sprayed with a weird liquid. I'm out for about a full week before Sam finally trodged his ass back to get me out, lazy son of a bitch."

I didn't know whether or not to believe her, but I went along with her story. I asked, "Where did Sam disappear to for a full week?"

"Said he was getting 'professional help'. I still say he thought it funny to leave me in there for a while. I figured as much too, him and I go way back. I know how he thinks."

It was funny to hear the story, I couldn't help but smile, but I still questioned just what all there was to Valve. She seemed like she'd been in some pretty bizarre places.

"I wonder where the gang is," I mumbled, accidentally speaking louder than I intended.

"Could be shopping," Valve guessed.

"At five in the morning? I can't even think of any stores that would be open at this hour," I replied. Valve took another huge gulp of her sarsaparilla and shook her head in disgust.

"Man, this stuff's got a weird kick. Where'd you get it from?" Valve asked.

"Grocery store, just a little ways into the market place."

"This stuff tastes just like that crap Kit gave me from his great-great-great grandma's house."

I gave a chuckle and said, "Dare I ask?"

"Just another scenario where I could've killed Kit, given the chance. I'd never think a man so stupid as to mistake brake fluid for 'ancient wine'."

[+-o-+]

"Come on, Iffy! You almost got 'em!" Compa cheered for IF, who was driving like a madwoman through the dimly lit streets of Lastation. She slammed hard against the Faithbreaker's car, using a car she hotwired herself.

"GTFO you assholes!" Headshot screamed from the passenger seat. Occasionally he'd try to shoot his shotgun at their tires but his aim was so horrible that no amount of trash-talk could ever hide it. IF rammed their side again, tearing a hubcap off their front-right tire. Their green neon was busted, their music was silenced and their car was falling apart.

"Gear, hit them with your sword!" IF commanded. Nepgear had to edge herself out of the car a little but finally gained enough reach to slash at their tires. She missed the first few strokes, not even grazing the tread.

"Go Iffy! Go Ge-Ge! You can do it!" Compa cheered loudly, not able to do much in the passenger seat. Nepgear reached a little further, her sword almost touching their tires when IF made a sudden turn that threw Nepgear back into the car.

"Sorry Gear! Needed to make that turn," IF said to Nepgear who was already back out in the window.

"Please...just a little closer!" Nepgear struggled to touch their tire with her beam sword. The very tip of it nicked their treads and the whole tire detonated like a bomb, sending rubber shrapnel soaring behind them.

"You go, Gear!" IF congratulated, ramming the Faithbreakers one last time and pushing them off the edge of the road and into a nearby river that left them squirming to get out. By the time the trio of troublemakers were out, Kei and Uni already had soldiers ready to "escort" them out of Lastation.

"Now you can GTFO!" IF taunted Headshot as he was put in handcuffs and hauled off with his cohorts.

"Where do you think they're taking them?" Compa asked.

"Juvie, jail, space, anywhere that's away from here," IF listed comically. They already were driving back to the hotel, their car beat up but running. IF's phone went off, forcing IF to drive one handed while she dug her phone out.

"Iffy, no talking on the phone while driving! Give the phone to Nepgear," Compa commanded, prying the touch-phone from IF and passing it to Nepgear.

"Uhh...how does this work again?" Nepgear searched for a talk button or something but couldn't find it. Finally, IF instructed her and she answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Ah, hello Nepgear. I was calling to inform you that you're registered for the Tech Expo," Kei replied over the small speaker of the phone.

"Okay, thank you so much for the help!" Nepgear thanked.

"It's no problem. Take care and rest up for tomorrow."

"I will, thank you. Bye Kei!" Nepgear bid farewell and hung up the phone, holding onto it while IF tried to find the way back home.

Compa gave a concerned glance to IF, asking, "You don't know how to get back, do you?"

"I...have a slight idea." IF reluctantly admitted.

[+-o-+]

During a giggling fit I held with myself, I heard the door open behind me.

"Look's like you two really missed us," said IF.

"Hey, hey, hey! What's up you three, where'd you go off to? We missed ya!" I looked back behind the couch with a weary head.

"Hi, Cody! You're in an awful good mood," Compa greeted us.

"Yuppers! I feel *hic* wonderful!"

Nepgear looked at IF with a worried face. IF was disecting something inside her mind but Nepgear couldn't figure out what.

"What's up, IF?" Nepgear asked.

"You smell that? That really strong scent?" IF asked, walking closer to me. At that time, I didn't realize that Valve had just recently passed out, but my head was cloudier than the Fog of War. IF smelled around my side of the couch, homing in on something.

"What'sa *hic* wrong there, tsundere?" I asked with a smirk. IF picked up my empty sarsaparilla bottle and smelled inside before thrusting it away.

"That smell! It's coming from here!" IF held her nose in disgust.

"What smell? I can only smell puppies *hic* and rainbows right now." I added, holding my head on the couch. Compa took a wiff of the putrid bottle and her eyes widened.

"Uh-oh, I think Cody and Mrs. Valve just drank all my rubbing alchohol!" Compa exclaimed.

"What? Well, wh-what do we do?" IF asked, watching me crash onto the couch in an awkward motion.

"Uhm, uhm, I think I have something to take care of this in my bag. Ge-Ge, I need you to help keep Cody still while I give him a shot. Iffy, I need you to help me find my syringe!" Compa directed in a panic. Nepgear walked over to me and held my flailing arms down.

"Just hold on a minute, Code, Compa's gonna have you feeling better in no time," Nepgear said with her gentle voice.

"Whatchu talkin' bout feeling better? I feel fine! Oooh, my stomach's starting to hurt," I moaned holding my queasy stomach. It felt like somebody poured a vat of cough syrup into it and it was rejecting it. I could hear my stomach growling and grumbling occasionally over Valve's loud snoring. She sounded like she hadn't had a good rest like this in years, which I would imagine considering how paranoid she is.

"Just hang in there brother, they're almost done," She comforted me again. I could barely even feel her hands holding my arms down. My body was really cold and kinda numb right now. I didn't even feel Compa inject me with some sort of medicine.

"This will work, right?" Nepgear asked.

"Uh, hopefully?" Compa replied, worrying Nepgear and even IF. Compa, before calling it quits, gave the sleeping Valve a quick shot as well, to make sure she'd be alright in the morning.

"I feel asleep..." I moaned, slowly falling asleep. My eyes shut and body empty, I quickly passed out.

[+-o-+]

"What a night. I don't know about you two but I'm ready for a nice long nap." IF plopped in her bed, checking her phone one last time and rolling over for sleep.

"We've got a big day tomorrow, so we could all use some sleep," Nepgear followed IF's idea, Compa too. The night was finally silent and the moon loomed over Lastation with a silly looking smile on it's face like it was mischiviously plotting something. Outside, the wind blew with an industrial smell and the cars occasionally passed by the hotel with their high-tech motors propelling them. With but a sound or two to hear outside, the gang was fast asleep.

[+-o-+]

The alarm clock went off like a screaming banshee, waking only IF, Compa, and Nepgear. IF grabbed Grindrix from under her bed and followed Compa and Nepgear outside.

"So how much is first prize?" Nepgear asked. Her purple hair fluttered around in the hard breezes that passed through Lastation effortlessly.

"Around 50,000 credits," Valve informed, wide awake and fine from the night before.

"That's alotta money! Could Cody's toy really have a chance to win that much money?" Compa asked.

"Guess we're going to find out huh? Oh, there's where the Expo's being held, come on!" IF ran off to a large dome-shaped building, reminiscent to Planeptune's Coliseum, a glass dome sheltering steel girders that decorated the rusted ceiling. She slouched a little and was worn out fast from carrying Grindrix. Kei greeted them at the door, with Uni already inside.

"Welcome girls, your booth is set up in the back to the right. Once inside, you can use a rental Pop-Up to customize your booth" Kei informed, handing them all little wristbands that glowed with a black technological energy.

"Hi Mrs. Jingoocci!" Compa waved happily.

"It's Jinguji!" Kei replied as they walked away. The Expo was filled to the brim with potential weapons. So many weapons of mass destruction had even IF a little dizzy.

"We've got alot of competition," Nepgear said aloud, looking at a display for a large bipedial mech with a nuclear railgun. The elderly looking man standing next to it explained it's features and purpose, referring to it as Steel Cog X.

"Come on, we've got a booth to set up," IF pulled her away, spotting their mid-size booth in the distance. They waded through a crowd of people and took command of their booth. They worked hard to quickly decipher how to use the Pop-Ups and place information where needed on their booth.

"Uh, we've got a bit of a problem," IF noted, speaking loudly over the surging crowds.

"What is it, Iffy?" Compa asked, accidentally placing a donkey tail on their statboard. She hastily deleted the object and replaced it.

"I don't even know how this thing works. How can I fill out information about an object I don't even know about?" IF asked aloud, staring blankly at Nepgear and Compa.

"Uh-oh. And Cody isn't up and around to tell us either," said Compa. Compa looked over to Valve, helping with structural features.

"Don't look at me, I ain't got a damn clue how the things work, I just fire them," Valve said as she worked on a shooting range.

"It's made using an Otto-Aim on a modified Axe Hero controller. The fake blade was replaced with a real adamantium blade and runs on a 200-K chip," Nepgear educated, skipping a breath just to pour out the much needed info.

"I forgot how good you were with hardware," smiled IF.

"Actually, Code showed me all of this. I helped him with it," Nepgear replied.

"You two really do get along well don't you?"

"Yeah," Nepgear chuckled, "I suppose we do."

They cut the chatter to work even more, making their booth as good as all the others. IF took over showing off the gun, Nepgear educated people about the weapon, Valve kept the booth interesting by working the different behind-the-scenes switches and mechanisms, and Compa was there...well...in case someone gets shot. The crowd was quite interested by the weapon, even so much as drawing in other contenders to examine the unique battleaxe. Luck was with them today. Grindrix hadn't malfunctioned even once. Though something was amiss, something disturbing radiated in the aura established by the semi-lethal playground of wires and metal.

[+-o-+]

I popped my head up and brushed a lock of oily brown hair out of my eyes. It felt like a wave of water tried to drown me. Despite the swishing of my brain in my skull and my joints being stiffer than a board, I got up from the couch.

"My bruise is gone but my head still hurts. How lovely," I moaned in disdain to myself. I looked around our hotel room to find it empty. Deep inside my mind, I couldn't help but notice a drifting problem in my foggy thoughts. Something kept telling me that there was a problem. I was too weary and tired to properly capture that problem though. The fridge was still well stocked, but I made sure to double check what I was grabbing before hastily chugging it. I opened the cap and smelled inside, my nose still able to recognize this smell as my favorite drink. The couch welcomed my rear again as I sat down and relaxed, setting my drink down on the coffee table. My hand flailed around the side of the couch and then it hit me.

"Where's my weapon? Where'd she go?"

And just like that I was out the door.

[+-o-+]

"I think we might just have this. First time I've ever been on a winning team before," Valve smirked in almost-victory.

IF gave a laugh and said, "Don't normally win? You sure seem like a bread-winner."

Surprisngly, Valve gave a hardy laugh and said, "Noobs, man. They weigh you down a lot. Not bright people."

"Alotta people sure do like Cody's toy!" Compa exclaimed, happiness filling her eyes. They looked around the amassed crowd that never seemed to get enough of the weapon. Then Uni appeared, donning her black and blue armor. She caused the crowd to quiet but only a little. Kei was right behind her, taking notes all the while she observed. Nepgear grew stiff and stuttered on her words a little, but continued to remind herself of her powerful confidence. She was doing what she did for the team, and that was all that mattered to her. Uni smirked for a brief moment and walked on with Kei hot on her heels. Nepgear's body loosened up and she silently congratulated herself.

"I think she likes it!" Compa whispered in Nepgear's ear.

"I know!" Nepgear silently squealed.

"People of Lastation!" Uni shouted over the loudspeaker, taking stand on a personal stage that brought her up above the others. Everybody's attention flocked over to her, anxious to hear what she had to say.

"Welcome to Lastation's 89th Tech Expo. It's a pleasure to see all the amazing talent gathered here today. So, let's cut right to the good part. Our CPU Uni will read off this year's Tech Expo Champion," said Kei. Her voice sounded even stranger on the mic than in person.

"Think it'll be us?" I asked from behind Nepgear. I knew how unaware she was.

"Yeah, I really think it will! I hope so at least." Nepgear replied.

"Well, your brother really knows how to make some badass weaponry." I gloated. Nepgear looked behind her to see my pretty face.

"C-C-Code! What the goodness, I thought you'd be out all day!" Nepgear tried to keep her voice down, barely succeeding but getting a few hushes from the crowd.

"This year's winner is Nepgear's group with their weapon, Grindrix! Come on up and show us one last display of this years most epic weapon!" Uni announced. The crowd cheered and clapped, some disappointed contenders booing. Uni motioned for Nepgear to go up but she hesitated.

"This is your weapon, you should be the one to present it," Nepgear offered the weapon to me.

"You should be the one, kiddo. I'm not much of a crowd-pleasing person anyways. Go up there and strut your stuff sis, you're using real weapon now!" I pushed the weapon back to her and smiled.

"I'm with Code on this Gear, go on!" IF encouraged. Hesitant and a little wobbly, Nepgear walked up to the stage. Uni and Kei stepped out of the way and made room for a micro-sized shooting range. Nepgear took a deep breath and transformed Grindrix to Shredrix, wowing the audience from just that. She had a hay-day firing Shredrix's rounds into the steel dummy that was set up. Screens all around the stage gave a dramatic but awesome look at the weapon and the person firing it as well. I took a good look and could've sworn I saw a smile on Nepgear's face. For the finale, Nepgear summoned Grindrix and gathered as much strength and courage she could. She leapt in the air with a mighty leap, spinning Grindrix rapidly and slamming her into the ground, letting her spin like a top. The blade completely annihilated the steel dummies summoned and almost frightened Uni and Kei. She dropped back down and picked Grindrix up and held it up for all to see. She looked like she was really having a blast. Uni and Kei clapped for her last performance, as did all the crowd, even the people that were originally booing. Uni and Kei both motioned for all of us to come up as a team to recieve our reward.

"Show-off," IF teased Nepgear.

"You did pretty damn good, sis, I might have to make an axe of your own to use someday." I smiled to her. Uni handed the trophy and prize money to us.

"Thanks again everyone for coming out today! See you all again next year!" Uni waved goodbye to the crowd, putting on a good show until the crowd left. Everybody started to either leave or pack up their stuff and depart. We were kept behind to have our picture taken by the legendary photographer, Kei. We all grouped together for a friendly group picture, Nepgear in the middle and holding Grindrix. Kei focused her camera for what felt like an hour before she finally gave us the countdown.

"Relax Gear, you don't wanna be stiff for something like this," IF whispered in her ear. A flash blinded us for a moment then faded.

"Your weapon truly was one of a kind. We'll definitely see about mass producing these," Kei talked business again, retrieving our rental Pop-Ups from our sweaty wrists.

"So, what are you guys gonna do now?" Uni asked, trailing us back to the hotel. Kei sped off to have the picture uploaded to a digital album online.

"Well, now that we have money, we can finally move into Ruination and try to find the Spark of Creativity," said IF, keeping an eye on the many passers-by that fled from the Tech-Expo.

"You should come with us! It'd be nice to have you around again," said Nepgear happily.

"Normally I would, cause I know you probably couldn't do this without me, but I can't leave Lastation yet. I'm still too weak from the lack of faith. I'm sure you'll live though, maybe once my shares get back up it'll be safe for us to go venturing again," Uni replied. We walked to the front of the hotel and stopped to finish the conversation.

"Are you sure? Really really sure?" Nepgear asked again.

"Yeah, I'm sure. D-Don't give me those puppy-dog eyes! It's not like we'll never see each other again, I'm sure we'll be traveling together soon enough!" Uni said in defense. I honestly didn't see the need to have another person with us considering that we have so many people in our party.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye then. I hope we see each other again soon," Nepgear bid farewell for us all.

"Yeah, see ya later, Gear. Take care," Uni said with an honesty that showed her sweet side if not for a brief moment. We walked inside the aged hotel of blue and black, preparing for our journey, we still had a lot of daylight and a lot of land to travel. Compa and IF talked supplies with Valve while Nepgear helped pack up our stuff and store it in our universal inventory we shared as a party. I was glad I had my own separate inventory, 'cause I still didn't want anyone to see that I still had the Strength-Gate. Nepgear stored our trophy in a special trophy case in our inventory, even giving it a nice caption and fitting our group picture near it. I tinkered with Grindrix to make sure she was in good shape before we head out.

"You know, if you wanted to show Grindrix for the show, you could've just asked," I said to the busy Nepgear. I tried to maintain a friendly tone with her to let her know that I wasn't mad or anything.

"I'm really sorry, I truly am..."

"Don't be sorry silly! I'm here for a reason remember? I'm glad I could help, even if it's not directly," I interrupted Nepgear. We smiled together and helped pack the stuff together.

"Okay, I think we're ready to head out from here. You two ready?" IF asked. Nepgear and I nodded together and led our troop outside and soon over to the exit of Lastation.

"Welcome one and all to the glorious land of Ruination!" Valve assumed the role of tour guide, showing us a sunlit view of the enormous city ruin that seemed to span miles after miles. Buildings were ruined and streets were crushed, bandits roamed around endlessly raiding the makeshift towns that scattered the sides of the streets, and you could smell the dust moving around in the gentle breeze.

"Why aren't we going anywhere?" IF asked with a bewildered look.

"Oh, we're waiting for the author to get done describing the city and close the chapter," Valve replied.

"Oh, okay."


	9. Kill With Skill

"Well, let's hop to it," Valve took a step down a rocky and dusty incline of rubble from a demolished highway.

"What happened here, Valvie?" Compa asked, already assigning a nickname for Valve.

"Lastation happened. So many failed experiments and waste dumpings took a toll on this place. Not to say the place is completely irradiated, in fact, very little of it actually is."

"Makes sense, especially for Lastation. Uni's a good leader, but she really needs to learn how to clean up after herself," IF remarked.

I silently nodded, my eyes already surveying the area. Nepgear followed after me while I helped Compa get down to a more solid, if not rugged, ground. You could just smell the heavy odor of dead bodies and sickly, rusted metals making the air a breathable foulness. So many buildings around here are left in mere shadows of what they once were and the streets were crumbled almost out of existance. The clouds above that lingered around were putrid with the stains of heavy industry and even the occasional insects that crawled beneath our feet were mutated something fierce. Our group traveled across a broadway of sorts, wrecked and ruined.

"How are we going to find Tri-Shrex out here? Or better yet, what does it even look like?" I asked, hoping to get my quest log a little more filled in, maybe even get a waypoint on my HUD compass.

"Last time I saw that hulk, he was heading east of Willamette, so chances are he's about in the middle of Ruination. Don't worry, when you see him, you'll know," Valve informed, helping Compa and Nepgear traverse a steep incline of cracked, concrete debris.

"I wonder how many people used to live here," Nepgear pondered.

"Rumors say that this used to be Lastation until the native lifeforms forced people away. That coupled with the expiriments that took place around here made the place an unstable home, leading to a quick demise," IF explained, with the intent to frighten the both of them. Both of them looked at IF and then at each other in worry.

"What kind of expiriments?" Compa asked.

"Anything. Mutated animals, rogue AI's, they've all been dumped here, unwanted results of every expiriment that was destined to fail," Valve added in. One by one we hopped over a flooded intersection using rubble and broken car parts. The water didn't look safe to even smell, let alone touch. Compa was the last to near the other side when she was grabbed by steel wires that shot up from the pool of water below.

The animated wires flailed around to seek Compa while some already tried to pull her down. Contaminated water dripped off their razor ends. Compa kept a firm grip on the pillar of rubble she was on, refusing to be dragged to a watery grave. Valve was the only one quick enough to react, taking a grenade from inside her jacket, pulling the pin, and throwing it in the water. The explosion it made rocketed both water and Compa up onto the other side with us and sent the wires shriveling back down into their watery hidey-hole.

"Wireframes, love water, hate people being around them," Valve informed, checking her guns again. She had an automatic rifle in her hands and dual SMGs on holsters attached to her waist. Valve Greenled to herself and said, "I remember my buddy Beth losing her clothes to those things once. She had to trek all the way to Willamette Mall just to get a change of clothes. I kept teasing her that it looked like something out of a bad hentai."

I was the only one that could spare a laugh and a few words. "I'm sure she was pissed about that."

"Nah, she was laughing at it like I was. I knew she wouldn't be mad, usually considers it another story to share around the campfire. Her and I kinda go back a ways, so I know how she thinks.

Our convoy proceeded again through the empty streets of ruin, shadows cast by tall, delipidated buildings above us. Nepgear stopped suddenly, her eyes focused on a bridge linking two buildings together. We didn't see anything but she apparently saw the apparitions of Neptune and Vert fighting off these wasteland creatures.

"You're seeing them again aren't you?" I asked, tapping her shoulder. She shook her head and nodded, not distraught but just a little distracted.

"Don't let it get to ya, they're not real. At least, I'd hope not anyways," I gave a quick pat on the back and we walked forward together. We needed our power weapon nearby and ready if we're gonna get out of here alive.

"What is it that she's seeing? Is it good? Bad? Grotesque?" Valve asked, checking on her gun again.

"Uhmm..." Nepgear hesitated.

Compa helped by whispering the touchy manner to Valve. They conversed in a hushed manner, exchanging questions and answers while narrowly avoiding deep potholes and trenches dug into the cracked street.

"Well, good news and bad news. Good news is, you're not suffering from radiation sickness. Bad news is this," Valve took a few shots off at a nearby car randomly, startling even IF.

"The hell? What was that for, you almost hit me!" IF shouted.

Her question needn't be answered. The car Valve shot at rumbled and roared until it fell to bits and rusty pieces that all seemed to have a sentient life as they trodged along to our gang.

"Man, that shit ain't normal..." I said aloud, already aiming Shredrix and firing at the malformed car parts come alive.

"Don't let them touch you! They're laced with all kinds of different poisons!" Valve shouted in between bursts of fire. IF and Nepgear took cover behind Valve and I while Compa occasionally shot acid bursts from her syringe. The pieces were quickly swarming in, clanking and thumping along the way. Compa, thinking ahead, sprayed acid on the road ahead, melting it down to the sewers where alot of the pieces fell into the green glowing sewer water below.

"Good thinking, Compa!" IF praised her. Compa smiled and then looked down to the sewer. The neon-like water down there smelled of a ferocious scent that could kill just from it's odor.

"That water doesn't look very safe," Nepgear noted, joining the sewer-watching party.

"It's not even safe to be around. Come on, let's move," Valve directed.

"How'd you know that car was going to come alive like that?" IF asked, still confused.

"It had a different color then the rest of the cars. It stood out, that means something's different about it," Valve pointed out three nearby cars of the same model that were all matching colors. The one Valve shot at was a brighter color of blue.

"Typical old school trick," IF commented. We walked down a trio of cracked streets, still being silently watched by the looming skyscrapers that were ready to topple. It was amazing how far this place has fallen over the years.

I started hearing an odd buzzing sound from somewhere in the distance. I nudged Nepgear in the arm and whispered, "You hearing that?"

"Yeah, there's a weird noise somewhere around here," she replied.

"There's a Glitch around here somewhere," Valve silently noted. She checked her gun for the hundredth time now, reloading it with a full clip even though she still had three quarters of a clip left. What the point of that was, I had no idea. I kept Shredrix close to me at all times, letting the pump rest in my hands.

"What kind of virus? I might have a cure for it." Compa looked around eagerly.

"The only cure for these viruses is a clip full of led and gunpowder," replied Valve coldly. Behind an abandoned diner, a trio of hulking creatures of holographic data screens appeared. They had no eyes or mouths, just looming heads of constantly streaming data. The information shooting across their screens was either static-filled or blurred. They spotted us and screamed, static filling their voices.

"Cover your ears!" Valve tried to shout, her voice muffled by the screams. I kept my headset on to block out the horrific noise. I could hear hints of their screams through my headset's padding. That wretched noise was the least of our worries, the things were deconstructing the enviroment, their hands merely touching the buildings around them and causing them to revert to a primitive 8-bit stage. They threw the pieces at us, some getting embedded in the ground and some demolishing it. IF and Compa guarded Nepgear while Valve and I began shooting at the strong creatures. Our bullets merely phased through them, their holographic body untouchable by gunfire.

"Looks like it's time for some swordplay!" IF started weaving in and out of cover to near them, Nepgear right on her heels. I switched Shredrix out for Grindrix but didn't follow the rest of the group. I stayed behind to cover Valve. She didn't have anything more than a survival knife and she'd likely be ground beef if these Glitches got ahold of her. IF and Nepgear dove out of the way of their tangible swings. For creatures of data, their swings were strong, strong enough to shatter concrete. Nepgear performed her Mirage Dance on the nearest Glitch, tearing it to ribbons. Another Glitch came from behind, hands cupped together and ready to slam into her like a sledgehammer.

While they kept the Glitches busy, I questioned Valve quickly about what all we'd need to kill the Glitches.

Valve, keeping her voice down, whispered in a frantic and harsh tone, "We're going to need Nepgear to kill them, she's the only one with a proper technique and level to kill them off. All we can do is weaken them for now."

I was about to look for any structural weaknesses that could help clear the battlegrounds when I felt the breath get knocked out of me. A Glitch spotted us from afar and tossed an 8-bit boulder at my feet, the shockwave from it knocking me down. My hands on the floor, I could feel his tremendous footsteps shaking the ground. I commanded Valve to get to cover while I worked on keeping the Glitch busy. She tried and tried to shoot it, knowing it to be useless but a good way to distract it. I sliced and chopped at it with my axe, wearing it down but not killing it. I have to at least keep it weak while I wait for Nepgear to come and finish it off.

"Nepgear, when you-" I started, stopped by a tremendous feedback that rattled my ears. The Glitch before me screamed a vibrating, static-filled scream, interrupting radio contact using feedback.

"What is it, Code?" Nepgear asked, unaffected by the feedback. I braced myself against another attack, holding Grindrix up with one hand on the shaft. The Glitch swung down and nearly broke both my arms with its mighty gorilla-like swing.

"I need help!" I shouted, feedback shattering my ear-drums. I gritted my teeth and shut my eyes in pain, wanting to take my headphones off but knowing the consequences being this close to the creature. It neared me again, distorting my vision with static that filled my eyes. I looked up and saw the faceless creature ready to smack down on me. I didn't have even a split-second to react.

"Think fast!" Valve shouted, throwing her knife. It hit dead center in the creature's face, forcing it back long enough for me to recover. I got pissed off enough to use my Combo Breaker, throwing Grindrix high in the air and kicking the butt of the shaft at just the right time. The battleaxe shot like a bullet and impaled the thing into a wall. It wasn't able to get out from it's bonds but Valve and I were defenseless and had to hide in a nearby dumpster.

"It smells horrible in here," I whispered.

"Stay quiet!" Valve whispered back.

"How can I? It smells terrible in here!"

"You might be breathing in asbestos man, keep your mouth shut!" Valve held her hand on my mouth, lowering it when she deemed me silent. She brushed occasional bits of rust and grime out of her long brown hair and brushed off parts of her light-brown jacket.

[+-o-+]

IF and Nepgear only had two Glitches left to kill, not including the one still impaled in a wall. IF kept lowering the HP of them while Nepgear tried to finish them off. They jumped around alot though, turning a gutted apartment complex into a jungle gym. Nepgear and IF left Compa down on ground level, her inability to climb unable to be dealt with. The rotting wooden of the floors barely held Nepgear and IF, it didn't help that the Glitches were tossing rolling debris down the stairs.

Every time they almost neared the Glitches, they'd hop up a few levels until they got to the top. Nepgear, struggling to climb up a crumbling staircase, was helped up by IF. Though IF didn't see a payload of debris rolling her way. She was knocked clean back down to the start, leaving Nepgear to fend for herself. She leapt up, over, and around the barrel-like debris of concrete and steel. At the top the two Glitches attempted a synchronized attack, both rearing back their fists and aiming for the little girl in front of them. Nepgear rolled under the left Glitch, making the other one punch his friend in the chest and knocking it on it's feet. Nepgear took this opportunity to decapitate the fallen Glitch and slice apart the other one. Finally free of the static field emitted by the Glitches, Nepgear could feel the pressure releasing from her head. She looked down from the corner of the building, IF and Compa waving up to her. She waved back down, ready to try climbing down whatever was left of the stairs. Her eyes caught on another phantom image of Neptune standing atop a building higher than the one Nepgear was on. She locked eyes with the lifeless shell, scared to near her, but still seeing a glimpse of her beloved sister inside.

"Was it really my fault?" Nepgear whispered aloud, turning her gaze away from the phantom and to the stairwell going down.

[+-o-+]

"Good job. So where's Code and Valve?" IF asked. Nepgear spaced out a moment, then shrugged.

"We're over here!" I shouted to the group, dusting myself off. Valve looked over to the Glitch that was still hanging on the wall, only to find that it had fled apparently, leaving my axe and Valve's knife on the floor. I grabbed my blade, turned her back into gun form, and regrouped with the others.

"Everyone ready?" IF asked, already walking forward with Compa in tow. Nepgear nodded and ran forward. I looked to Valve and she looked at me as if to ask a silent question. A crack and crumble came from nearby, then a building came toppling down on top of Valve and I.

Nepgear, with a startled gasp, shouted as she gazed upon a falling building, "Look out!"

"What the-" I started, interrupted by the concrete crumbling around us loudly. IF, Compa and Nepgear were far enough away to flee. Still under the falling building's spotlight, Valve shoved me out of the way to assure I landed in safety under the falling building. I didn't even have enough time to raise Shredrix in defense, bracing myself for impact.

Valve and I were saved inside a small alcove of debris, but there was no other way out other than digging. The rest of the building formed a dark tunnel that eventually led back outside. Once the dust settled, I dared to open my eyes and mouth, barely able to do so.

"Valve? You here?" I asked, scared that she was dead. I saw her head come up but not the rest of her body. After a little searching, I found her buried under a little debris. Her leg was crushed though, bleeding even. I stored Shredrix on my back and started trying to dig her out.

"Code? Valve? You two okay?" IF asked. I could hear her swiping her claws at the building, trying to make a way to us.

"I'm fine but Valve has a broken leg," I shouted through the wrecked building. My hands worked and worked at getting her leg out, moving broken boards of wood and untangling thin steel wires. Once she out, I had to help keep her up by offering my shoulder.

"You gonna be okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, just fine," Valve replied, sarcastically. Outside I could hear even more crumbling, louder too.

"Move!" IF shouted to her group, forced to leave us to save themselves. I thought fast, picking up Valve and carrying her in both arms. I could hear other buildings around us threatening to come down. My lungs were bursting and my arms were giving away but I made it out of the tunnel. My journey wasn't over though, more building and even an old metro rail tried to fall atop us. I ran a little less every step I took, unable to keep up. My leg caught on a spikey steel wire, moving like a rearing snake. Valve tried to kick at it with her still working leg. The spikey club the Wireframe formed whipped around viciously but couldn't move too close, trapped under some wreckage. I tried getting back up, only to be tripped up again by another Wire Frame. I didn't dare hit the floor, running fast enough to keep momentum. A skyscraper fell behind us, scattering dust and sending chunks of wreckage everywhere, even scraping up my back with broken glass and concrete shards.

[+-o-+]

Nepgear scrambled to get moving, finding it hard to help Compa over tricky debris and keep out of harm herself. The buildings came down left and right, a whole chunk of the city falling apart.

"Come on!" IF shouted, motioning for them to retreat into an underground metro system. Compa and Nepgear fled inside, a building coming down right behind them and crushing a nearby train. They ran down a small chunk of dimly lit metro before they declared themselves safe. A few buildings that came down blocked their exit out, but they didn't care at all. As long as they were safe, that's all that mattered.

"How is everyone? Does anyone need a band-aid?" Compa skittishly asked, looking around at the teammates still trying to catch their breath.

"We're fine, I think," IF gasped.

"I'm more worried about Valve and Code. I hope they're okay, I feel bad leaving them back there," Nepgear looked over her shoulder.

Compa reassured Nepgear with her cheerful smile and said, "Cody's strong, so is Valvie! I'm sure they're already up and at 'em!"

"Yeah, those two are the brutes of the party. Well, not including yours truly," said IF.

Nepgear shrieked, frightfully leaping back. A small mechanical insect scurried across the dirty stone floors. It had a constantly changing appearance, it's colors morphing and warping constantly into strange concoctions of glitched patterns. "What is that?" Nepgear asked.

IF walked next to it and flicked it away, smacking it into a wall. It had a brief bodily spasm before dying. "It's dead. Now let's keep moving." IF directed. Secretely, she hated bugs as much as Nepgear did, and likely even wanted to get out of the tunnels more than her. The bugs moved about constantly along the walls, in the flickering lights above, in the cracks of the stone flooring, they were everywhere.

"This place is infested with these...Bugs," commented IF, dubbing the small creatures as Bugs.

"Yeah. And this isn't any small tunnel either. I wonder how far back this tunnel goes," Nepgear tried looking down the barely lit halls. All she could see was the occasional scurrying Bug and sometimes a cloud of dust fall down. Not much was seeable down there, not even any light from the grey skies above their tunnel complex. The whole area was sealed, some of it looked intentional too. In some spots, there were planks and cinder blocks blocking small holes leading out. Up ahead there was a leak from above, the green, glowing water wetting the dry concrete. IF looked at the look then tried to look up to see where it was coming from. There was a long tube leading a little further down. They followed it to a small valve that revealed it's source.

"Just as I thought. We're under a sewer," IF said aloud, her voice echoing down the tunnel and making Nepgear jump a little. There was very little sound down there, aside from what noise they made.

"Is that why there's no holes letting light in?" Compa asked, piecing together the puzzle in her head.

"Yup. That's 'cause all that's above us is sewer water. Something I don't think we should take a swim in anytime soon. I really don't wanna grow any extra limbs or anything."

Compa gasped and asked, "Does it really do that?"

"Shouldn't you of all people know what radiation does?" shot back IF.

Compa just shrugged.

"All we need to know is that we should avoid it," simplified Nepgear. Compa took a better liking to that explanation. They walked down a sloped hill leading even further down.

Keeping her voice down, Nepgear asked, "What exactly is it that we're looking for in Ruination? Besides our team, I mean."

"According to what I've learned from Valve, we're looking for some kind of God of Ruin. I've heard rumors about the thing

"Uh, guys, we've got a problem. I think that water's been leaking for quite some time," IF pointed down to a pool of green-glowing water as the tunnel went down.

"Now what do we do? Our way out's blocked and we can't swim in that, what do we do?" Compa panicked.

"Here's a ladder going back up. At least it's a safe way to get back up," said Nepgear as she helped open a valve that revealed a way into the upper sewers. It also lead up to horrific smell that Nepgear choked on just taking a whiff of it.

"Here, Ge-Ge, this should help." Compa helped put surgical masks on everyone, hoping that'd help at least drown out the smell. They moved up, trying not to slip on the damp, rusted ladder. The sewers were extremely dark, the glow of the water not even enough to provide sight.

"I can't see crap in here!" IF complained, trying to back into a wall and away from the water.

"Wait, I've got an idea." Nepgear pulled out her phone, shining the screen towards the ground to make a makeshift flashlight.

"Good thinking Gear, just don't accidentally drop it. Especially not here," IF strongly warned Nepgear.

"Iffy, didn't you lose your phone once in the sewer?" Compa asked.

"Let's not talk about that," IF turned away from the conversation, Nepgear leading the pack. The sewers twisted and turned in different directions, the water glowing more and more the further they went. Fish somehow survived in the stream but they were horribly morphed. Finally finding a ladder up, IF took first climb, practically punching the manhole to get up. Climbing up, she saw a freakish face of white and red, orange hair, and a red nose. Her instinct told her to shriek and let go, leading her to smash poor Nepgear on her way down.

"IF, what happened?" Nepgear asked, her neck crimped a little.

"Clowns, I hate clowns," IF shuddered, wanting somebody else to go up first. Nepgear took the ladder with a strong grip and hardily climbed up. There was indeed a clown up there, but it was just a worn out cardboard display that somehow got brushed close to the manhole. Nepgear was creeped out but she pushed it aside nonetheless, pushing it facedown so that IF wouldn't freak out again.

"It's safe to come up, nothing else is up here," Nepgear reassured IF.

"Okay..*ahem*, good work Gear, let's move on," IF brushed off her little experience and looked around the abandoned amusement park. The crashed rides and ravaged booths gave off a very desolate vibe. A place once made for fun was now made a ruin.

"Where should we even begin to go?" Nepgear asked, seeking guidance from IF.

"First order of business is to try finding Code and Valve. Let's see, we went east from there," IF calculated their positions and such while Compa and Nepgear admired the strange aura radiating from the park.

"It feels weird doesn't it?" Nepgear asked Compa, letting her hand brush along the wooden game booths.

"I would imagine so. You're rubbing your hand along years of dust," Compa tried to keep from laughing. Nepgear looked at her hand to see it brown now and covered in something sticky.

Nepgear attempted a smile and said, "Not my best idea."

Compa helped wipe her hand off with a wet rag.

"It does feel strange here. This is supposed to be a place of fun, but there's no fun to be had here, so all's that's left is this strange feeling of defile and ruin," Compa spoke in a cryptic mind quite unbecoming of her.

"Uh, yeah...I think," said Nepgear.

"Sorry, I love these kinds of places. I kinda get wrapped up looking around," said a skittish Compa.

"Alright, so I think that Code and Valve are heading north of here, so we'll need to go that way," said IF. She frowned to see the path lead right through a funhouse. Compa seemed kinda eager to go through it, already setting foot through the entrance and Nepgear just didn't seem to care.

"Be careful guys, there's alot of broken glass around here," IF warned, trying to step over the shards of glass broken from mirrors at the entrance to the Funhouse. Inside was a tunnel of colorful swirls. It was hypnotic to Compa, her slowing down to look around frustrating the antsy IF. A clank and whir startled IF almost to running out. The power was trying to restore itself to the funhouse, the lights trying to flicker on and the tunnel attempting to turn with them still inside it.

"Relax Iffy, it's just a funhouse." Compa's words offered little comfort, but IF kept moving with the group. Exiting the tunnel, they could hear a noise behind them, it was a little far away but was nearing them slowly. Shrugging it off, they entered a hall of mirrors, reflections dusty and stained, some even broken. It was hard for them not to get lost inside. There were dead ends and split offs that blended in with the maze of mirrors.

"Everybody still here?" IF asked, paranoia shaking her voice. Everyone acknowledged. IF rammed her head into a mirror and suddenly felt the floor shift under her. She dropped down a hidden slide that creaked and moaned from her weight. Two whole sections of the slide fell apart as she glided over them.

"Where'd Iffy go?" Compa asked, being the next to fall through a hidden hole, her screams muffled as the hole covered back up mechanically. The funhouse quickly changed to a nightmare for Nepgear.

Nepgear, still a little jolted from the impact, asked futily, "Where is everyone?" Her echoes spoke back to her, repeating that same sentence. The desolation of the park started to get to her, the dust in the air being the only thing there for her. That and the eerie sounds coming from beyond the walls she searched endlessly for. Nepgear wandered around, smacking into dead ends and seeing no way out yet.

"Please everyone, come back," She begged. The floor fell out from under her, the house taking the last of its victims down to it's rusty depths. The slide had her zipping through broken sections, falling through sudden drops where the slide was no more, finally hitting a dusty mattress. A face suddenly appeared, scaring Nepgear until she realized that it was just IF.

"Eep!" She cowered behind her hands, her knees scrunched up towards her body.

"Relax, Gear, it's me. Come on, we've got something to show you," IF helped her up, leading her to a glowing spot nearby. There was a thick yellow crystal shooting up from the ground, Compa examining it but never touching it.

"What is it?" Nepgear asked.

"Likely a source of contamination. It's started corrupting the funhouse." IF pointed to small veins of corruption. They surged into the building, spreading small pools of poison around.

"Stand back everyone, I'm going to try something." Compa commanded, pulling her giant syringe from that strange mystical place where women store things. She emptied the syringe, jammed it inside the crystal, and began sucking the radiation out of it. The whole structure of the funhouse began to rumble and creak, metal hitting metal as the place fell apart. Running up a steep incline of stairs as they fell apart, the gang found themselves leaving the exit of the funhouse. IF ran full speed even further away, seeing the exit to be none other than a giant clown's head.

The head started to deform, falling apart in a certain pattern. Compa and Nepgear, finally outside, looked at the clown head as it peeled its paint apart in certain parts, as if to reveal a hidden persona. One final shake jolted the house and broken steel girders shot through the faux teeth of the clown, knocking off more paint and turning the clown's head into something mechanically demonic.

"I think I see why Iffy's scared of clowns," Compa slowly walked back, turning her slow stride into a full run with Nepgear doing the same. They weaved into a court of game booths and food booths. A distant noise scared them, but it was only Nepgear's stomach growling at the sight of food. Nepgear tempted herself to grab onto an aged thing of cotton candy.

"Gear, don't eat that! It's old and probably poisonous," IF corrected her.

"Yeah, sorry. Just kinda let my stomach think for me for a moment there," Nepgear smiled and apologized. The way forward smelt of rotting food and dust still settling from the funhouse coming apart behind them.

"I wonder how Code and Valve are doing," Nepgear pondered aloud.

[+-o-+]

"Well, look at it this way, now we're both minus a leg," I comforted Valve. Valve was shakier than ever now, taking a pair of radiation pills then checking her gun again.

"Still dude, you could've gotten away from that if it wasn't for me! I feel bad, not just 'cause of the broken foot." Valve shaked violently, looking everywhere for anything at all to move so she could shoot.

My leg, still bleeding a little with my cargo jeans torn up too from that damn Wireframe, tried to support me getting up. I trodged over to Valve and sat down next to her. She gave me mystified looks, wondering what I was doing only for a second before going back to jittering around. "Relax, there's no sense in getting worked up so much. We aren't gonna get through this in a panicked wreck, we're gonna get through this by thinking with clear minds. Now let's see about getting a bandage on that leg."

I reached into my deep hoodie pockets and pulled out a roll of adhesive bandage that should help with her bleeding problem. As far as the broken part of the leg goes, all I had was a pair of little concrete rods I can try wrapping around her leg to help stabilize it while it heals.

"No way, you're leg's first, it's my fault you got hurt," Valve tried prying the bandage from me.

I held onto the bandages, put my hand over her mouth, and said, "Your turn to be quiet for a moment. You come first. You saved me first anyways. Let me see your leg," I calmly asked. She was hesitant but gave me her leg. I winced looking at the mangled bone but I fought through it. I applied some numbing solvent and the bandage and she already seemed to feel better.

"See? That wasn't so hard," I commented. She grumbled then looked out to the horizon, destroyed buildings and crushed streets covering the lands. While she was kept distracted, I tended to my own leg, covering up the bloody holes where the Wireframes slammed their spikes into me. It stung like a bitch, but I fought through it without the numbing solvent. I had a feeling that it would be better saved for later.

About an hour passed before we decided to move forward some. In the very far distance there was a mall complex that looked like it had supplies. I helped Valve up, holding her closer than usual.

"Thanks. Sorry for putting up a fuss."

"It's fine, sometimes all you need is someone to hold onto," I smiled. It was hard for her to keep her balance on the cracked streets. I just hoped that our Wireframe threat was over with for the moment.

Valve pointed her finger further up ahead, to a building made mainly of fractured glass with some pillars of concrete standing tall. She said firmly, "That mall might have supplies inside. We should go there first. Hopefully we'll catch up to the others soon."

"It's our best bet. We're almost there too. I just hope the-" I started, interrupted by a shifting noise near us.

"We gotta move man, fast!" Valve tried to get me to carry her. I scooped her up and started running. A hideous moan sounded off from nearby, startling me as a trio more starting up. Behind me were a group of wretched human-like figures hobbling towards us.

"Oh man, if that's what I think it is," I gasped while I ran.

"Yeah, it's what you think it is, we got the zombie horde all stirred up now!" Valve shouted, taking pot shots at them with her rifle. The recoil bounced my arms around a little, but what worried me was that I had no arms left to open the door into the mall. The door was painted red and made of a thick steel. I kicked it open with my good leg and fled inside, dropping Valve nearby so I could shut and block the door.

I shoved anything that wasn't welded to the floor in front of the door to keep out the zombies. The cloud of stench from outside finally went away but the zombies didn't. They moaned and groaned outside, not making an attempt to bust in but just standing outside. I could barely see them through a crack in the wall. After that, I took a look around this isolated room for supplies. It was a small room, a wall dividing us from the rest of the mall. What rested in the actual mall, I knew not, but it's our only way to go right now. I found a small translucent bottle on the carpeted floor.

"Pills here," I commented, throwing the bottle to Valve.

"I think I'll hold onto that," She replied. Her frisky hands went over her gun three times right in a row, making sure that it was combat ready. I converted Grindrix to her bullet-spewing alternate persona. Valve was patching herself up further with a nearby first aid kit, then took another one to hold onto for later. I didn't heal myself up, but rather kept two first aids ready in case her leg got any worse. I didn't think it likely for either of us to find healing potions nearby.

Valve, tending to her leg, asked, "Aren't there any more first aid kits?"

"Unless you consider alcohol a healing potion, then the answer is no."

Valve laughed and said, "Wouldn't be the craziest thing I heard."

With a smirk on my face, I could already see where the conversation was going. I uttered my favorite response, "Dare I ask?"

"I once got my friend, Crit, to drink antifreeze thinking it would keep him warm in winter. What made it even funnier was that he was a professional racer."

My laughing had to be suppressed in the case of zombies, but the stories she told were some of the funniest I'd ever heard.

Valve stood on her own, ready to unlock the door into the mall. She said quietly, "Ready when you are."

I crouched down by the side of the door, bracing myself.

"Go for it."

She flung the door open and we both had our guns extended out, probing the area for a nemesis. It was overly quiet, hardly even so much as a mouse skittering. Valve kept her wits about her but double-checked the sign. I took point at the welcoming sign, its granite body keeping me concealed while I probed the area ahead. Valve watched for movement and for any items of use lying around. The food court was up ahead, its contents shaken and stirred. Tables were overturned and random purses and shopping bags were scattered everywhere. We both had to watch our step so we didn't cause a ruckus. Valve avoided everything that could've made noise but I had trouble keeping up. I kept running into tables and chairs, my lack of coordination screwing up our plans of keeping quiet. I could already tell Valve was getting pissed off, but she almost snapped when she started hearing shuffling feet on the floor above us.

Putting her rage aside, she pointed up, pointed to an escalator, then started walking along an empty aisle, one I could get across. I followed silently and obediently. She took lead, climbing up the escalator with a silent step. I watched the balcony looking down to her, told to take out anything I saw up there.

"Hey! Somebody wanna help? Please!"

I could hear loud shouts coming from downstairs. Someone was trapped downstairs, which surprised me that they didn't make any noise up until our approach. Valve's anger tried returning but she repressed it for now.

"Code, go help the noob, I'm gonna clear out the upper floor." Valve commanded, pointing downstairs for a second then rushing the rest of the way up the stairs. I ran back down, homing in on the man's obnoxious yelling. He was trapped inside a closet in the toy store.

"Help!"

As I approached the door, the man shouted again for help. "Shut your mouth bro, you're pissing off the natives!" I shouted back to him, moving around the mess of assorted items that blocked the door. The door swung open and he barreled out, running out to the food court. My confusion cleared when his little roommate stumbled out, drooling and hissing. I blasted his skull with bullets, breaking it wide open and dropping his rotting brain to the floor. I grabbed a baseball bat from the toy store and threw it to the man. His T-shirt and shorts weren't gonna keep him safe for long so I could only hope he had a good swing or he was gonna end up zombie bait.

Following me out of the store's half-way barricaded doors, the man said, "Thanks, my friend was trying to turn zombie while I was in there."

"No, it looked like he just wanted a damn hug," I said with a smart-ass tone, "What's your name fresh meat?"

"Name's Green," Green said, running up the escalator with Valve was peppering the crowd above, firing away at a large moaning crowd.

"My name's Code, my friend upstairs is Valve," I explained to him, already adding my bullets to the fray Valve faced. I tried to get Green to stay put by me but he insisted on covering Valve. I was lucky that my aim was decent or that senseless kid would be a bullet-sponge. Finally, with the crowd thinned and the rookie somehow still alive, we got around to proper introductions.

"Name?" Valve asked.

"Green," He replied, trying to look calm when he really wasn't.

"How the hell're you still alive? Flesh crawlers get full or are you just really good at hiding?" Valve asked, reloading her rifle.

"Hiding? Try whimpering." I added.

"Hey, no matter what I was doing, I'm still alive and here. I was doing fine until a bunch of crazy assholes ran through here with motorcycles and chased me inside the toy store. My turn to ask now, what're you two doing in here?" Green asked, grabbing a samurai sword from a nearby blade shop. Neither Valve nor I needed blades of any sort right now.

"We got seperated from our hunting party," Valve answered, checking the sight on her gun. Green just grunted, scanning his sword properly before following us. A sign above read, past the bloodstain, "Plaza: Left". I took that as the only proper way to go from here. Valve still walked with a slight limp but she seemed to be slowly doing better. There wasn't any activity on the way to the plaza, save for some animals that broke free from a nearby pet store.

The main plaza was pretty damn big, three floors with alot of different walkways. Unfortunately at the bottom was a massive horde of flesh eaters waiting down there. I looked behind me on the walkway, gazing out the window that let in a grey light. I saw a long way down and immediately knew that there was no way of getting around that horde.

"Well, looks like we're playing a game of shoot 'em up," Valve sighed, cocking her gun. We started fire and captured the attention of the whole horde.

I was having a hell of a time shooting them all up. But what had me distracted was a car on a showcase down in the plaza. "Is that thing fueled up?" I thought to myself.

[+-o-+]

"Nepgear, I know you're hungry, but for the last time, you can't eat that food! It's way past rotten!" IF tried to pry Nepgear away from the food booths. Even Compa started to grow hungry, openly saying so occasionally. IF was hungry too but she was too head-strong to admit it. They all caught a break at the nearby sight of a soda machine. Nepgear's eyes almost started to sparkle in delight. She reached down to the little pouch she had tied to her leg and started pulling out coins one by one to pay for some drinks.

"Gear, let's just pry this thing open and take what's in it, we don't have to pay anything," IF began picking the lock of the soda machine.

"But wouldn't it be stealing if we did?" She asked in defense.

Smirking, IF said, "It isn't really stealing if nobody's around to claim that it's theirs in the first place."

Nepgear shrugged and sighed, then helped IF pry the machine open. There wasn't too much inside, no more than six sodas inside. Still, they were cold and not radiated at the least.

"Three now, three later, now let's go," IF commanded. After drinking the first sodas, Compa and Nepgear started to stray occasionally from the group, examining ruined entrances to attractions and wrecked amusement rides. Eventually the group slowed to almost a halt. IF grew frustrated at how little progress they were making, even though she could see the exit to the park further up ahead. A devious idea came to her mind to get the two to start moving. She reached for one of her phones and played the sound of a zombie moan from it.

"We better get moving, I think I hear dead walking," IF commented, playing the sound again.

"Goodness! Are there really zombies around here?" Nepgear asked, slowly inching back into movement. IF played the sound again, only this time, a little louder.

"I think I hear it too!" said Compa with a shakey voice. IF's plan worked perfectly, up until she accidentally dropped her phone.

Compa said, with her innocent look exchanged for a more concerned expression, "Iffy! Were you tricking us?" Compa asked semi-angrily.

"Maybe. It was just to get you guys to get moving again! You were moving slower than a Slime! Code and Valve are probably already waiting on us up ahead," IF sheepishly said.

"It's okay, Compa. We need to get going anyhow," Nepgear smiled, walking full speed with IF. Another moan came, loudest of all.

"Iffy, how do I get your phone to stop making that noise?" Compa asked, playing with the phone until IF snatched it from her and stored it away.

"Ha! I couldn't get that clear of an audio even with an 8G phone," IF replied.

Of course, that could only mean one thing to them. Out of the shadows, one by one the dead rose their hands in search of flesh and bone.

"We might want to speed it up a little more," Nepgear commented, making haste despite her weary legs. IF took the same approach once she looked back to see the horde amassing. Eventually they took off in a full-on sprint, their breath fading fast and their feet growing weary. They burst out of the amusement park and ran all the way to a grassy town square, choosing to rest there.

In the distance, Nepgear examined a glowing orb of green that floated in the air. "What is this?" Nepgear asked, clutching at the green orb.

"Ooh, it looks like one of those cute little fairies!" Compa fantasized, now trying to grab the fleeing ball of green gas.

"Guys! Don't mess with that! That's-" IF started coughing horribly, losing her voice a little.

The air started to fill up completely with the little green dots, making it hard for anyone to keep from coughing. IF, barely able to keep her head up, looked around for somewhere, anywhere they could go to escape from the extremely radiated air. She trodged along, still coughing and hacking, aiming for an underground car tunnel.

"Co-come on guys! Over here!" She wheezed, leading the others down into the car tunnel. A few minutes of traveling and they had escaped the radiated air and moved into the dusty atmosphere of the underground. Cars were parked everywhere, leaving little room for the trio to sit down and relax. The radiation was floating around inside them, slowly making it harder and harder to even function. IF could barely even keep the Bugs from crawling along her body with their mechanical feet.

"I feel asleep," said Nepgear.

"What?" IF asked, confused about what she thought she heard.

"I said I feel sleepy," Nepgear said again, correctly according to IF.

"We gotta keep moving, Code and Valve are the only ones with the radiation medicine, we can't stop now," IF said with a cracked voice. Compa didn't have any objections, neither did Nepgear. They trodged along the tunnel, eyes kept out for any enemies or friends along the way.

[+-o-+]

"Keep firing! There isn't much more!" Valve shouted over the gunfire. Green did good to keep the zombies from finding their way up, not bad at all for a rookie. My gun was starting to overheat, almost growing too hot to touch. Valve finally ran out of ammo and sat down, exhausted. I finished the last of the zombies then sat down next to her.

"What a rush," She sighed. Green finished his last zombie and sat down across from Valve, grey light pouring down onto his head. His eyes widened at the sight of Valve's bandage on her leg.

Green, his eyes focused on Valve's wound, asked, "What happened there?"

"Had a little accident on the way in," Valve replied, adjusting the sight on her gun.

"You got bit didn't you? You're infected!"

"She didn't get bit, cool your jets rookie," I shot back to him. I changed Shredrix back to Grindrix so she could cool down.

"I knew there was something you two were hiding!" accused Green, his voice raising into an almost violent tone. He stood up, looming over Valve with a menacing look on his face.

I raised my axe to his neck and growled, "Sit. Down."

"I should've known better than to trust either of you," He sighed.

"Do I look like a damn zombie to you?" Valve asked, frustrated. Secretely, she slipped a single bullet into the chamber of her gun.

"Not now, but you will. Well, that is if you don't die before then," Green gripped his sword tightly.

Little did he know, or rather see, there was a strange, wall crawling zombie clung to the window behind him. I choke-slammed Green to the ground then sliced his knees with Grindrix, leaving him unable to move. With her still good leg, Valve kicked his motionless body over to the window, then shot the glass out to let the wall-crawler in. The hungry zombie already started ripping his guts out, not even paying any attention to us escaping. "Lunch time, bitch..." I whispered to myself.

We ran down the blood soaked stairs, once a marble white color. Down three flights of stairs and across a wooden plaza floor filled to the brim with corpses that already attracted flies, we barrelled forward to the car, praying that it was still a functional car. I was about to take up the driver's side when Valve said, "Let me drive."

I had no problems letting her drive. Hopping into the dusty leather interior, I waited impatiently for Valve to start the car. She snatched the hidden key in the sunvisor and jammed it in the rusty ignition, the car starting with a ground-shaking roar. Valve revved it up and shot out of the mall at lightning speeds, making a nice exit out of a nearby wall. The city looked amazing rushing down it at high speeds, the overgrown buildings looming over the cracked streets like silent guardians. Valve was relatively unphased by the scenery, picked a nearby car tunnel to drive into, eventually going underground with only dim lights to help us swerve in and out of abandoned traffic.

[+-o-+]

The trip through the tunnel seemed to last ages and the Bug infestation started growing bad. Eventually they would pour down the tunnels in small hordes, their multicolor shells flashing and changing constantly. The aura around them disturbed IF, like they were bad mojo, even though they had no intention of harming her or the others. IF, suddenly, threw her hand out to stop Compa and Nepgear. Past the ticking of Bug feet, there was a rattling not far up ahead. It grew louder and louder until a car revealed itself to be a familiar enemy.

"The car have started to move!" Compa pointed out. IF couldn't believe what she was hearing, such grammatical failure was unbecoming of Compa. She didn't have time to worry about that though, past her coughing and hacking she had to move back with Nepgear while Compa used her acid spray on the approaching radiated car parts. Her vision started to blur a little from the radiation poisoning, but she fought on, extinguishing the wave of parts.

"Hehe, a winner is us," said IF, cursed with bad grammar like the others.

IF, with Nepgear in tow, motioned for Compa to keep following. A sudden streak of pain and cold smacked IF's leg, a small poisonous sparkplug stabbing IF's leg. After spraying the sparkplug down, Compa grabbed her first aid and began treating the bloody part of the wound. Thanks to that added radiation, IF had official hit major radiation poisoning. Her will was fading fast and so was her patience to wait on help to show up. Tending to the wound, Compa found a Bug latched onto IF's leg, loose but attached. She plucked it off and immediately IF found the culprit to the phrase fails.

"Everybody, check your legs," IF commanded, trying to ease up on her healed leg. She had to be careful but she could make it. Compa and Nepgear both peeled off Bugs from them.

"So that was what was causing that Engrish..." IF mumbled.

"What's Engrish?" Compa asked with clear speech.

"It's a mistranslation people tend to find in video games shipped from other nations. Planeptune's really bad about it," Nepgear explained. A bright light ahead distracted them from their conversation, growing closer and closer by the second until the light was actually revealed to be two lights...

[+-o-+]

"Hit the brakes! Hit the brakes!" I shouted just quick enough for Valve to hit the e-brake. Our car slid to an eventual halt, almost tipping all the way forward and crashing. It slammed onto the ground with a mighty thud, parts breaking and plastic coming off. I shut the car off and exited with Valve in tow.

"Took you two long enough!" IF playfully complained.

"Didja miss me?" I asked in return. Compa helped treat Valve and in return, Valve gave Compa and the others radiation pills to take.

Nepgear greeted me pretty warmly, asking me if I was okay. I gave her a quick pat on the head and told her, "I'm fine. How are you two?"

Smiling, Compa said, "I'm good and Iffy is too now. Thank you for asking."

IF said to Valve, "You sure took your sweet time."

"Could've been worse. At least I didn't lose you guys like I did the last pair I brought here."

The silence after her statement was so thick that I could cut it with my axe.

"You lost two people in here?" IF asked, her voice a little louder than normal.

Valve's face turned to a skittish smirk as she nervously explained, "Well, you see, lost is a bit of a harsh term. They were actually eaten by Tri-Shrex."

"I suddenly feel very unsafe," Nepgear admitted.

"Speak of the bastard, where is Tri-Shrex? Have you two seen the beast?" I asked.

Not a one of the others confirmed a sighting.

"How exactly are we even going to take that thing out? From the sounds of it, it's no small fry monster." said IF.

"About that," Valve started, pulling out an advanced, two-way radio, "We aren't exactly going to kill it. Lastation is."

It seemed odd to me that Lastation would be killing it. "What prevented Lastation from finishing Tri-Shrex off before then? Why do we have to intervene to kill it?"

"You remember that targeting system you got for Lastation from Artillerain? That's the reason we could never kill it. We tried to once, almost pulling it off, but it fled out of range. That's why we haven't even seen the thing yet."

It made sense from what Valve described. I was still going to fight as I could, mainly because I wasn't about to bank everything on Lastation.

A sudden crash caused the tunnel to cave in and crush the car behind us, debris spilling into the hole like a funnel. Chunks of concrete and glass fell through, forcing us back until it was safe to climb out to a safer location. The shaking from nearby was more than likely going to cave in the rest of the tunnel, so we made haste to climb up the pipes and concrete.

"Holy Slime shit..." I gasped, being the first to stand up and take a look forward.

IF approached next to me, asking under her breath, "How did we not see this thing at all before?"

"There it is! The God of Ruin, Tri-Shrex! Let's get to it boys n' girls!" Valve chimed happily, already taking point at a nearby pile of debris to start shooting. The thing was a giant hunk of living ruin and debris, its two pillar-like arms made of broken skyscrapers and it's snake-like tail made of sewer pipes and truck trailers. It was like a ruined city had literally come alive and made a form of it's own.

I shook my head and took point next to Valve, shooting the bullet-hell out of the thing. It barely even phased it but when it did knock off chunks of it's debris, it just regenerated using it's surroundings. Compa occasionally stopped it's regeneration with her long-range acid spray but she couldn't quite reach far enough to do real damage.

"IF, call in reinforcements!" Valve commanded, throwing a radio transmitter to her. Nepgear took the oppurtunity to transform into her HDD form, sniping off larger pieces of it with her sniper. Tri-Shrex finally had turned around, looking at us with it's eyes made of jet turbines. It gave off a grisly scream, mixed with the sounds of metal grinding, concrete falling, and harsh static.

"Hello? We need reinforcements over here, we've got a problem!" IF talked over the radio, greeted by a familiar voice.

"Sending a mortar strike marked on your position. Brace for impact," Kei replied. Just as she had finished talking, Tri-Shrex started gushing toxic goo out of a sewage pipe jutting out of it's shoulder. Everyone, save for the floating Nepgear, had to retreat atop a destroyed bus. The sewage flowed down endlessly, radiating a vivid green and smelling of an unspeakable odor. The ground suddenly shook as meteor-like mortar shells bombarded Tri-Shrex. Once the smoke cleared from the air, the creature became buried under it's own arms. We thought the fight to be done but it just slithered out like a snake and began launching iron girders like spears at us. It's aim was horrible but slowly getting better. We only had so much time to stop this thing from hitting the bus. Our trump card was used up, so it was up to us to finish the fight.

"Open fire, don't stop 'til it's dead!" Valve shouted, unloading everything she had at it.

Judging from it's structure, it was still trying to regenerate, but it was much slower at it. Nepgear's pace was slowing and my gun was starting to overheat, two things that were going to jeapordize our mission.

IF, still on the radio, asked Kei frantically, "Are there any more shells? Anything at all?"

"We're reloading now, but it'll be a minute before we can fire again," Kei said, static emitting loudly from the radio.

By the time Kei was done talking, Tri-Shrex was close enough to start flinging girders into the bus we were on. The sheer impact from the forceful throw caused the bus to tip, threatening to drop us into the sewage.

"Everyone, hold on to something!" shouted Nepgear, immediately drifting to the bottom of the bus, mere inches from the deadly sewage. Using the last of her energy, she pulled the bus back down, closing in on Tri-Shrex in an attempt to distract him. I didn't approve of her tactic, but it was all we had to go with at the moment while we waited for another mortar strike.

Despite the distractions, Tri-Shrex threw another girder, time slowing as we all watched the steel spear penetrate the bus, tipping it on its side. Valve immediately took Compa, who was nearest to her, and helped her leap over to a drifting piece of concrete. IF and I both clung onto the edge of the bus as it teetered closer and closer to its side, violently creaking as a warning. The sewage was just below, infected to the point of poisoning on contact, emitting a horrendous odor that could almost kill from one whiff alone.

The first words I spared from my fading breath were, "Nepgear, get IF to safety!"

Nepgear hesitated, stuck in a mental decision of who to save.

"Dammit, save her first! Go, now!" I shouted again. With an expression of depressing remorse, Nepgear scooped up IF from the bus's edge, carrying her off to a distant platform where Valve and Compa were. My hand slipped, almost dropping Grindrix into the murky waters. The bus's creaking, followed by my shift in orientation, signalled for me to act and fast. I didn't have the strength to pull myself up, but I did see a little alcove of broken concrete that I'd make a big risk trying to reach. I wasn't even going to try and jump to where Valve and the other's were, the land drifted too far away. Reaching as far as I could, I kicked off from the bus, arms outstretched, flailing wildly for anything to grip a hold of. In a blind daze, I gripped onto the alcove I sought, hands fighting to keep me up.

"Hold on Code! Kei's sending the next volley in, just hold on!" IF shouted over to me.

From where I was hanging loosely from, I quickly grew frantic, bracing myself for what was more than likely going to shake me into the sewage. "This is gon-"

The whole world around me vibrated like I was directly under a nation-sized bass speaker. As dust fled into my eyes, I felt my grip fade and the concrete start to crack and give in. My breath faded and time felt sluggish. My life didn't flash before my eyes, but I felt a sense of dread that certainly didn't do me any favors. Whatever was in the sludge below wasn't safe, and the flood washed furiously down the streets, fast enough to carry me to death.

My grip was gone and I could feel myself freefall through the stench and dust in the air. With only Grindrix in my hand, I braced myself to hit the water when something soft caught me with a firm impact. I immediately looked up to see the face of my savior, locking eyes with none other than Nepgear. I wanted to thank her, but my breath was impossible to draw and my heart raced faster than it should've. Breaking my gaze, I looked over to where Tri-Shrex was, seeing only a certain blue sphere of glyphs that we sought. A bit of sorrow went through me as I saw nothing else there. From the looks of it, the Concentrated Nuclear Core had washed away with the flow of sewage already.

The water quickly began to drain into the crevices, emptying the once watery street so we no longer had to dwell on stepping stones. Nepgear, letting me down softly, transformed back to her regular form before passing out on the stree with a weary thud. The first thing I thought was that she was dead, but relaxed when I heard her familiar snoring. Compa carried her, as heavy as she was. IF retrieved the Sparkholder and put the Spark of Creativity back in it's rightful home, storing it back in the group inventory.

"One down, two to go," IF said to herself.

"Aww, where's your enthusiasm Iffy? We just got one of the important pieces we were missing from the Sparkholder!" said Compa, wearing her cheery smile.

"Heh, well it is pretty good that we're getting these back together. Still, the show must go on, as they say," said IF.

"Onwards!" Valve commanded with enthusiasm, checking over her gun while leading the group.

The others had already started walking on but I stayed behind for a moment. Quickly scouring the area, I looked frantically for any hint of the collectible left over from Tri-Shrex's destruction. There was a thumping in my heart again that wouldn't cease, slowing down as I.

"Come on, Code!" Valve shouted, motioning for me to come.

"So how'd you convince Mrs. Jingoochi to help us?" Compa asked.

"Her and I go WAAAYYY back! She owes me a few favors and what better way to put them to use?" Valve replied, taking the radio transmitter back from IF. We walked up to a pier where the Ocean of Stars started. Past here was the Glory Fields and then Lowee, our next destination. The only problem was that we were minus a boat.

"So how are we getting across this?" IF asked.

Valve, toying with the frequency on her radio, said, "I've got a solution for that." She held the radio up to her ear, talking with a barely audible voice. Valve, with a loud voice, said, "Sledge, hey! Time to pay me back for saving your dumbass cousin from that infested space ship!"

I laughed, then said, "Well, I know where this is going. Calling in favors from the military, perfect."

IF asked the approaching Valve, "Are they sending a ship soon?"

"Yeah, Sledge and I go way back. All he has out in this area is a diving ship looking for submarines, but it's better than nothing." said Valve, "It should be about thirty minutes to an hour."

With little else to do, Valve took off to look around, probably to scavange for ammo. I followed behind her, stepping around debris gathered around in huge piles. Looking behind her, she asked me, "What're you looking for?"

"Anything, I guess."

Valve checked further behind her, to where the others were. Looking back at me, she tossed a green orb, glowing with energy, saying, "Let's say you found something."

My eyes lit up, happiness abundant as I quickly stashed the Contained Nuclear Core in my secret stash of key items.

"You're lucky I caught that floating down the stream. Don't mention this to anyone." said Valve.

I nodded firmly, smiling. "Thank you so much."

[+-o-+]

A long, sweet hour later of nothing but chatting and random looting, the ship finally arrived. A rugged, but durable military boat showed up, equipped with two machine guns protruding from the front and a payload of bathyspheres in the back for searching. One of them looked quite a bit older than the rest oddly enough. The front of the boat unfolded to release a water-soaked ramp with a man saluting us as we came aboard. The man wore the typical green soldier's uniform, decorated more bullet chains than badges of honor.

"Welcome aboard, Miss Valve. Pleasure to see you again."

Valve gave the man a quick salute before filling him in on the situation. The ramp behind us slid back up with a rigid sound, the ship quickly taking off, waves scattering in it's mechanical wake. Before taking a step forward, the military soldier said to us, "Be careful now with that old one. We picked it up off the shore not long ago and it isn't sitting right in its holster."

I made note of what he said before heading back right to the old bathysphere, embellished with rust and ornaments of algae and coral. With a million scratches on it's brown exterior, it certainly stood out more than the polished, white brethren hanging sternly nearby. In the back of my mind, I felt like that old bathysphere meant something more than a rusted reminder of some fallen age. "Where have I seen you before?" I thought to myself, my hand brushing its rusted exterior. With a jolt, the door popped open with a quiet creak.

Just out of harmful curiosity, I opened the door all the way, letting dust and hot air escape from its deteriorating tombstone. The creaks from inside formed a beckoning dirge as I set a single soaked footstep inside a room that hadn't been touched in many years.

"Getting into trouble again already?"

I jumped at the sound of IF's voice behind me, quickly whipping around to see her gazing at me with a stern expression. All I could spare was a mischievous smirk, climbing further inside. The leather seats and iron support beams looked to still be somewhat pristine, comforting our brief visit. My voice bouncing around softly in the steel cage, I asked IF, "Is it just me, or does this thing seem very familiar?"

Following me inside, IF said, "It kinda rings a bell. I thin-"

The boat shook violently, knocking IF inside and slamming the door shut with an ear-ringing sound. Like a toy in a hurricane, the boat was tossed around relentlessly. Waves didn't cause the disturbing movements however. Something was grasping at the bottom of the boat, failing to keep a grip, but tossing the boat in its attempts. The bathysphere, loosely hanging from a failing perch, creaked loud enough for us to hear. Trapped both by the door, rusted shut and forced close, and by the violently motions ruining our coordination.

My stomach dropped out from me as the bathysphere was dropped into the briny depths, sinking quickly through the waves. I couldn't see what was attacking through the scratched, cloudy glass on the door, but I didn't dare move just in case it decided to aim for the bathysphere next. From what I could hear, it sounded like the attacker, had its aims on the ship rather than us.

On an unknown autopilot, the bathysphere sputtered to life, taking off for somewhere even lower than where we were. Panicked, I looked around for some kind of control panel, saying quietly to myself, "Where in the hell are we going? We need to go up, not down!"

IF, helping me search for a full five minutes, stopped when a disembodied voice, cracked with static, said quietly, "Welcome to Aether!"

Looking over to IF, I asked, "That's not good, is it?"

"Not at all."


	10. Sea of Dreams

The bathysphere jerked around as it latched onto a docking rail that was covered in rust and sea barnacles.

Looking out of the window to the vast city below, I thought aloud, "What is this place?"

"Rumors go that it was a mining city at one point, down here to drill up oil and minerals for the Lastation cause. It's said that Lowee blames Lastation for the city making the ocean hazardous, and that's why they ceased all communications with each other."

"What made it fall into this mess?"

"Let's just say that they drilled into a few things they weren't supposed to." IF explained cryptically, expecting me not to pry any further.

To me, it seemed just odd that an entire city was left off the map. Whatever happened wasn't good, but I'd rather know what was going on so I would know how and what to fight. "What happened exactly?"

"I don't know all the details. I've heard that they drilled into a toxic waste line, making all the locals mutate into odd creatures that prey on others. I've also heard that this is where the lowbrow drug chain for Lance started, the people living in the area growing too addicted to it to remain sane."

All of that was news to me. "What's Lance? What does addiction do?"

Like some kind of science professor caught in a bad question, she paused for a moment. "It makes your reaction speed a lot faster. Use it too much though, and your eyes can no longer adjust. Your eyes pretty much become useless. That and your body mutates. Don't know why."

I didn't need to be told any more. The locals weren't likely to be very hospitable, mutated or not. Taken that they were alive. Ahead of us, the doors were rusted and wouldn't open all the way, dead fish already rotting at the bottom of the steel chamber leading to dry air. It'd been jammed like that for a while apparently. IF aimed her pistol, with the intent to shoot it back in order.

"Are you mad?!" I shouted as I shoved her arm down, "I really don't wanna drown in here, just give it a minute to see if it'll fix itself."

As if on cue, the bathysphere neared its destination, the doors finally opening all the way. The chamber's railing moaned as our weighty diving sphere crawled onto it, but eventually it brought us up to a dry docking room. A hiss and clank later, the doors were open and we were crawling out of the sphere.

"Well, these people surely weren't low tech, that's for sure," IF commented, looking at the other bathyspheres. Some of them were still missing but some were still docked. Foodstuffs and metal shrapnel littered the floors and it already looked like this place had sprung several leaks. My eyes surely widened to see the water making a small puddle on the floor.

"Well this just got better!" I shouted. My eyes looked around frantically to try and find something to patch the hole up with.

"Relax Code, they're just visual effects. It's not really leaking, it's just there to make the place look more realistic," IF said.

I shrugged and looked around for a way to get open a thick metal blind that kept us trapped inside the room. The only thing I could find was a ticket booth. I could just barely fit my arm through a hole in the glass. My arm flailed around while I tried to press random buttons. I began to question whether this thing even worked or not, but when I managed to raise the blind, I didn't need to worry about there being no power.

With a laugh, IF said, "Nice one. Can you make it give me some snacks now?"

"Heh, yeah, if I could do that, I'd be feeding myself, not you," I joked.

"Oh whatever! You know you'd want to share with me, just admit it."

"Admit it honestly or sarcastically? 'Cause I think I can only spare your poor little soul a tidbit of sarcasm," I gave her a sly smile and she gave me a loud slap on the back of the head followed by a gentle smile.

"Since when were you such a smart-mouth? I kinda like it," IF asked, tinkering with a lock attached on a large locker system.

"Well, just comes naturally. Maybe a certain professional smart-ass is wiping off on me," I rested my head on her shoulder and watched her pick the lock for a couple of seconds. The doors here were made of pure steel and had a scanner system on the top of them. I stood in front of it for a minute and looked at it to see where it's machinery fed to. Suddenly, it started to scan me with an infrared scanner.

"What'd you do?" IF asked, looking over her shoulder to see me frozen in place. I didn't dare move just in case this thing tries to summon guards or something. Once it was finished, it said with a metallic voice, "Admission failed. Proper equipment needed."

"What equipment?" I asked with a confused expression.

"This equipment..." IF pointed to the inside of the locker she opened. It had a pair of diving suits, decorated in black and brown with steel platelets all over it. I was the first to get suited up, wearing my diving suit comfortably. At least now I didn't have any worries about drowning, this thing had oxygen equipment on it.

"I feel stupid in this thing," IF commented, getting the last of her gear on.

"Yeah, well 'stupid' is gonna be our ticket out of here apparently," I shot back, standing before the scanner again. With a red sweep of it's mechanical gace, it scanned us once more and let us pass down the broken hallway and into a main plaza. The tunnels between the buildings had glass keeping the water out. Most of the spidering glass was about ready to give, and I had no intentions of waiting around for it to break. Once we were inside the plaza, I took a quick look around then made my first official steps into Aether.

The quiet sound of rushing water was the only thing that broke the grave-like silence. Dim lights shorted out nearby, the occasional creak singing a song of demise from the nearby walls. The only thing still recognizable was a souvenir shop of simple woods and peeling paints near the back. A rusted sign hanging from the roof pointed left to go to the administrative office and right to go to the visitor's food court. If anything, the food court would be a good place to begin searching for a way.

"How long do you think this place has been abandoned?" I asked aloud by accident.

"Eh, who knows, who cares?" IF shot back with a shrug. I took her logic and began walking to the food court with IF silently following. Her and I both were admiring the post apocalyptic world hidden under the sea. The shrapnel on the floor, rust on the walls, and the occasional spouts of water declared the recency of the city's fall. The door up ahead was adorned with a thick safety bulkhead, only a digital interface in the middle.

I stopped up next to the door, IF stopping near me. "Looks like we're locked out of that way."

"Well, let's fix that," IF tapped on the digital interface located on the door. From what I could see, she wasn't just looking up the user's manual.

While IF was still hacking through the inner programs of the machine, I asked her, "Know some black hat tricks, huh?"

"Let's just say I've picked up a few tips from my Guildmates."

She pulled up a sort of puzzle system on it, showing a start and finish and a lot of multi-directional pipes that could be moved. A couple seconds in, the starting point began pushing a green liquid through the pipes. The more IF tried to hack the door, the more frustrated she became. Eventually she started swearing to it and beating on the door.

"Something wrong?" I asked innocently.

"I frickin' hate mini-games!" She shouted with teeth bared and her voice filled with anger. I gently nudged IF aside and tried my hand at it. A first failed attempt didn't frustrate me like it did IF. I had the door open on the second try.

"How the hell?" She whispered, walking with me down the hallway. My rigid suit made me walk in an embarassing gait, the stiffness of the leather-like leggings making it difficult to traverse some of the debris and makeshift barricades scattered along the tunnels. A colorfully painted archway ahead dripped with water and shone with a dull sheen, light from broken bulbs nearby reflecting softly. Tidbits of rotting fruit and vegetables were littered along the floor underneath a large sign reading, "Garden of Nyx".

Ahead was the market, abandoned stalls reeking the smell of rotting crops and ripe cheeses. The meats were spoiled, still hanging from rusted hooks. What wasn't spoiled was either stolen or covered in glass from shattered windows. Shadows danced from nearby oil lamps and fluorescent lights above, dimly lit corners gathering dust in the long forgotten backrooms.

We took what little we could find and ate it, wary of the assorted candies and pastas that seemed "edible" to an extent. "Looters sure made a mess of this place." I commented, eating a pastry that tasted sweet but dusty.

"They always do." IF replied.

While we continued eating, I picked up what was left of a newspaper, seeing a peculiar creature on the front page. "'Big Brother project ends in failure, subjects terrorizing populace as a result!' Why do I have a feeling those things are still wandering the halls here?"

"Why would they have a reason to leave? Not like they'll have a lot of opposition."

I couldn't argue with her. From what I could see, they were heavily armored and sported some buzzsaws and rocket launchers that I didn't want to get too acquanted with.

Done eating, we began walking to another dull-looking passage, crushed benches and tipped trashcans being the only things inside. I could at least be thankful that the bulkheads weren't lowered. The water surrounding the cracked glass shielding the tunnel bubbled as fish swam around. The ocean floor was dotted with multicolored coral and other floor-dwellers that helped add life to the ocean.

"Code," IF beckoned.

"Yeah?"

"Didn't you say your parents were lost around here?"

Admiring the aquatic wildlife that casually swam around the towering buildings, I drearily stated, "Yeah, they sure did. Wonder if this is where they went."

"I think I see some sort of burial ground somewhere off that way," IF said, pointing to a chamber attached to the ocean floor way off in the distance. It even had real dirt that must've been imported from the surface.

"It's worth a check, but first, we have more important mat-"

Before I could finish that sentence, my body was racked with spams as a hundred volts of sheer electricity ran through my body. I didn't even have the energy to scream, and IF barely had the ability to help. She was just as shocked as I was. Once the chord broke on the tripwire I accidentally hit, I dropped to the floor in pain.

"Oi! We gots a visitor!" I heard a distant voice cry. I looked up to see a seriously deformed human with a sort of laser rifle, motioning for others to come up. IF helped drag me back to the door frame while the monsters starting shooting these green bolts of energy. I couldn't even look over my shoulder to see if they were coming. The blood slowly began working through my body, my heart pulsing in an off-beat pattern.

Some of the men shooting at us chose to get closer, quickly getting cut down by IF who held onto Shredrix while I regained my senses. "Where'd they get these guns at?" IF shouted. A bolt of energy whizzed past her, melting a hole in the tunnel, making water actually start coming in. The mere sight of the flooding sent the morphed natives running. The sirens in the tunnel went off with a vibrating noise, a bulkhead following in the siren's wake. IF quickly dragged me back inside before I was sealed inside the flooding tunnel.

I tried to get up, slipping a couple times but finally making it up. Now that the natives had fled, we needed to find a safer area. We didn't have much time to search, but we managed to find a sort of maintenance tunnel leading down towards that graveyard we saw earlier. The only problem was that the only way to get through this tunnel was utilizing a single polished rail that was in the dead center of the tunnel.

"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" IF asked with a grin.

"Hell yeah, let's go!" I jumped onto the rail, my boots grinding down with a scraping noise, sparks flying from my feet. Granted, I still couldn't feel too much of my body, but I still enjoyed the exhillarating experience. After grinding for a good minute, the ride was stopped abruptly at the end of the maintenance tunnel. I didn't really know how to stop, so I kinda just fell off at the end. IF rolled her eyes and performed a proper landing, showing me how it was done.

"Well, that sure was interesting," I said, getting up from the rusty floor.

"Yeah, we should do that again sometime," IF smiled, opening the door leading to a mechanics shop and medical bay. We were both shocked to see a huge hulk of a creature standing right outside the door. It a buzzsaw mounted on one hand and a weird-looking rocket launcher on it's shoulder. The thing was bulky too, like an armor-clad golem. It was also wearing a diving suit and apparently was incapable of speech, only occasionally moaning like it was some sort of whale.

"I'm guessing that's a Big Brother," I assumed, attempting to sneak around the confused Big Brother. It was hard to coordinate my steps when I was still regaining feeling.

It looked like it was missing its Little Brother. The door leading to the mechanics lab was in our sights, but so was a mess of shattered glass. We couldn't get near or the thing would see us. Gently, we carved a special path through the tiny openings in the glass. My hand homed in on the button opening the door to the mechanics lab tunnel and I leapt inside dramatically. Once IF was in, the door closed behind us. It was then that I noticed that she still was carrying Shredrix.

"Grow fond of my second half or something?" I asked her, pointing to my rifle she held onto like it was her child.

"No! It's just that we need all the firepower we can get and you can't really feel your body yet."

"So I guess that means I can assume my gun's better than your claws."

"Ha! You wish!"

"Remind me to schedule you for a Coliseum duel sometime noob," I teased her and gave her a playful shove. We laughed together for the first time since we've got down here. It was nice to be able to enjoy ourselves, even when we're knee deep in enemy territory. I really didn't mind being in Aether, despite the "graphical effects" looking a little too realistic for my liking. Walking down a pair of steps and making hard right, we greeted another locked door.

"I got the last one, you can get this one," I said to her, sitting down near the door frame while I waited. She sighed and took command of the digital interface attached on the bulkhead, hacking the door while I relaxed and listened to some music.

"...everyone dies, and everyone lies, they're waiting for the second coming again...everyone tries to hold onto their lives..." I started singing along to my music again. I absolutely loved the song I played, but I was certain that IF probably thought I snapped when I began reciting the whole song. I knew that it was a girl singing the lyrics, but I didn't care. A good song was a good song.

"Do you always sing along with your songs when you listen to them?" IF asked, still working on the mini-game she hated so very much. She started muttering curses under her breath now while she talked with me.

"Yeah, I love my music. It's always the video game music that gets me, never anything else." I replied with a chuckle.

"Hmph. Not bad of a singer...for a noob..." She said with a grin as she finished the puzzle mini-game. I could see her eyes fill with glee when she unlocked the door. Inside the mechanics lab, it was just as empty and void of life here as anywhere else around here. Draining pipes leaked dirty liquids, making a drip-drop sound that echoed in the empty room. Not a window in sight, the walls of steel and rust creaked and groaned. IF and I made sure the place was clear of the loonies before we searched for anything we could use. Both of us widened our eyes when we saw an emergency escape bathysphere, still docked! There were a few problems with it, but it could be fixed.

Reaching inside of the bathysphere, IF quickly started to see different problems. "Looks like we're gonna need a gearshaft. The only thing I know of that would have that is from a buzzsaw assembly."

"Gee, I wonder where I'll find one of those," I moaned to myself.

IF tossed me my rifle and said, "Well gunchild, time to get hunting while I stay safe in here and work on the sphere..."

"Yeah, yeah, feel lucky your my friend or you'd be doing this with your puny claws." I taunted her as I left the maintenance lab. Again I walked down the glass tunnels that soothed me almost to the point of sleeping. There was just something about being underwater that made me feel at peace. It was something to do with the pretty colors down there, the bright corals and fish stationed down at the bottom of the deep blue. The door to the medical/mechanical lobby was rusty and hard to open, but I pried it open with Grindrix's blade, shifting her back to her gun form as I entered the lobby to the medical bay. The Big Brother was gone, and he couldn't have gone to the mechanics lab, nor would he be able to get up the steep inclines of the maintenance tunnel. My assumption was that he was in the medical bay now, so that's where I was intent on going. This door opened alot easier than the last luckily. I was just glad it wasn't locked. I really hated repetitive mini-games.

Walking through the blood-soaked tunnel to the medical bay, I could pick out the Big Brother's dusty footsteps in the dim lighting. Most of the bulbs and lights had been shattered, broken outlets sparking dim electricity. Following the warpath, I walked past a door that had been forced open. In the medical ward, with a row of pharmacies making a straight street, I could see the Big Brother further down.

"There he is..." I said to myself as I approached my prey. He was lumbering about the way to the graveyard. "Hey! Holy diver! Over here!" I taunted the hulk. He turned around and moaned, his heavy breathing making it's way all the way over to me. The hulk stomped it's foot like it was mad and revved up it's buzzsaws. I worried about that thing the most. I really didn't wanna be sliced up like a raw ham.

I shouted to him, giving a taunting gesture, "Come at me bro!"

He charged at me at an unbelievable speed with his shoulder extended for a ram. I leapt out of the way and began firing at him with Shredrix. He was pretty fast for a fat man! He could move almost quicker than I could. He could also take quite a beating too. I fired a good two hundred rounds at him, but he still fought on, scraping me a couple times with his buzzsaw. Nothing serious, but it still worried me that he wasn't dying yet. The most I saw was that he was slowing down a little.

"Damn, fat boy, you got god-mode on or something?" I taunted him again, trying to lure him into an exposed generator that leaked visible electricity. He moaned loudly and launched a rocket from his rocket launcher.

"Oh crap!" I thought to myself in the brief millisecond I had to think. I had to do something and fast, but I didn't have anywhere to go or anything to help me defend!

Then I felt it...a radiant energy flowing through me. I switched Shredrix to Grindrix, held her out before me and let go. The axe started spinning around incredibly fast like it was attached to some invisible vertex. The rocket was deflected off the spinning shield and flung back at the Big Brother, making it stumble backwards with a vibrating step. Even more pissed off than before, it charged forward just as I wanted him to. At the last second, I leaped out of the way. On the ground, I watched as the big brute shook wildly, thousands of volts of electricity running through his metallic suit. An explosion from the generator thrusted him onto his back.

I took a good look at his body before I approached. I wanted him to be completely dead so he didn't get the jump on me. When the coast looked clear, I walked up to his buzzsaws, bloody and lifeless, then forced out a collection of cogs and machine parts from it, picking out the ones I needed. Once I was finished, I took a look at the stairway leading down to the graveyard. A stale wind drifted upward from the dreary hall, soft sounds making their way up from their underwater graves. Step by step, I slowly descended down to the graveyard. Rigid woods supported a sign before the graveyard that read, "Final Stop Graveyard."

I stepped onto the grassy knoll that held around a couple dozen of graves. The rows were neatly aligned and there was a metal structure in the back that looked like a funeral home.

"I guess maybe they weren't buried here," I sighed, looking at the last two rows of graves. Finally I found the two names I was looking for.

"Joy Oprashunal and Rob Oprashunal..." I shivered as I looked at their grave. Mom's grave was recently filled in it seems and Dad's grave was still empty. A sorrow went through me, my heart slowing as it dropped deep inside my body. I couldn't feel the urge to break my firm gaze on the two gravestones. Then all I could see was black as I faded into unconciousness with nothing but a loud ringing in my ears and a massive headache...

[+-o-+]

IF, scrounging for parts in the mechanics bay, thought to herself, "Damn, he's been gone a while."

She picked up a large circuitboard of gleaming componants, tucked away in a parts bin where nobody was likely to look. Deeming the part useful, she stored it in her inventory with the intention to sell it to a Guildmate later. It had been about an hour and a half since IF had been left alone.

"Maybe I should go see if he's alright," IF said to herself. "No, he's strong, probably as strong as I am. He'll be fine."

Continuing her search for anything valuable, IF grew distracted worrying about her partner. After a while of contemplating, IF told herself as she headed to the door, "It isn't like him to take this long. Besides, Nepgear would throw a fit if anything were to happen to him."

[+-o-+]

My head was killing me when I woke up, and I could smell the faint scent of blood. I was inside a casket with just my head able to look around. My hands and feet were bound by what felt like rope, and I had been stripped of my diving suit. Grindrix rested elsewhere in the room, but I couldn't tell where. I could only see a brief reflection off her blade occasionally. A deformed man walked up to my casket wearing a black suit with a dirty tie. He looked like he had been wallowing in a dirt pit or something.

"Departing is such sweet sorrow," He said with a quiet and cracked voice.

"Hey, let me the hell outta here you nut!" I shouted at him. He just stared at me with a lowly gaze on my coffin. My assumption was that he was the gravekeeper here, either that or a priest for the funeral services or something like that.

"You've changed, you're nothing but a monster now. All is fine, nobody will ever have to remember what you've done now," He said with his regular voice.

"The hell you talking about you damn nutjob, let me the hell out of here!" I shouted again and started to squirm inside the coffin. He picked up my axe and held it with the light reflecting off the nearby lamps. Then he raised it high over his shoulder like he was going to swing down.

"Oh no, oh hell no! You ain't killing me with my own damn weapon, you put that down, right down, you hear me fugly?" I shouted at him, closing my eyes tightly when he brought the axe down. I didn't feel any pain or anything, and when I opened my eyes, he had slammed my axe down on a chain near my coffin. He then held the blade in his hands, admiring it like a child of some sort.

"It's the only thing that's left of him, but it's so tainted now that not even I want it," He said to himself again.

"Dude, do I need to spell it for you? Let. Me. Out. Of. Here!" I shouted again to no avail. His pale hand slid across Grindrix's blade, blood spewing out of his hand now. Grindrix's blade was now soaked in his dark blood.

Shocked, I didn't bother to waste my breath shouting at someone that wouldn't listen. He walked over to my coffin, smiled one last time, and closed the lid, locking it as well. In my mind I started to panic, wondering if I'll ever be found. Another thing that lingered in my mind was his face. As distorted as it was, I thought it looked familiar. I couldn't see it too well in the low light. I heard footsteps distancing themselves and I felt completely helpless. I was bound and trapped in a coffin with nobody knowing where I was.

The coffin started to move with a rigid thud, slamming into the ground. My head began to hurt even more now. I could feel that I was being dragged along the floor. The worst possible thoughts dwelled in the darkest corners of my mind. I had nothing I could use to escape.

"Hey! Let me out now! This ain't funny man! Let me out!" I shouted and shouted until my throat refused to work. I felt gravity shift again as I was tossed down into an open grave, making my head quake even more. One by one, the man shoveled loads of dirt into his shovel and poured it into the grave, making a hissing noise as it fell onto my crypt. I cried silent tears as I met my end, trapped in this coffin and buried alive.

I heard gunshots above, gunshots and a man's scream. Then more gunshots and a little screaming. The coffin door swung open, revealing a smiling face ready to help me out.

"Hide and seek's over now, time to come out," IF said as she released my binds of rope. I got up and flicked my wrists to wake them up from being completely numb.

"Thanks," I said quietly, still choked up. Her and I climbed out of the grave, and once I took a look at the grave I was buried at, I started to fit the pieces together. I looked closer at the man that IF just killed. He had a nametag on that I couldn't see earlier. It was too dark in the room for me to see it.

"Rob Oprashunal," I read aloud, shedding a final tear.

"I-I didn't even see that," IF whispered just loud enough for me to hear. "Code, I'm so sorry, I had no idea."

I held up my hand with solemn sorrow. Swallowing what few tears I had left, I said, "Whether you would've killed him or not, his fate would've been the same. I can't blame you for this. All I can do is accept it."

Rob still laying cold on the ground, I walked up to him and shut his eyes. I could feel something thick in his pocket, so I quickly took a look on his inside pocket of his jacket. He had a thick key wrapped around a necklace that had a big silver game controller on it. As I pulled the necklace and key out, a paper fell out. Opening the paper, it read with his own blood as the ink, "A Key To The Heart."

On my own, IF standing above with an averted gaze, I placed my father's cold body in the coffin and slowly covered the shallow grave. My heart heavy and my mind clouded, I felt a mixture of sorrow and acceptance. There wasn't anything that could've been done. Standing in front of their gravestones, I said quietly, "Bye Mom. Bye Dad."

Walking away, I choked down my sorrow and took a deep breath. "This is the hand fate has dealt me. I can't bring back the dead. But I am not without purpose," I told myself. Looking ahead, I had a lot of people to worry about, one of which was standing right beside me.

"I'm still sorry about that. I never would've guessed that he was your dad," IF said with a sorrowful tone in her voice that I'd never heard before.

"Don't let it bother you," I told her, struggling to do the same myself. In an attempt at good humor, I took the situation with a grain of salt and said with the best broken chuckle I could muster, "If anything, he'll respawn sometime later today. Or he'll come back as a zombie, whichever comes first."

"Yeah, you're probably right," IF gave a gentle laugh, "Anyways, let's get going, I'm sure that Nepgear's waiting on us. Race ya!" She took off running down the tunnels and lobby.

"Wait up!" I shouted with a chuckle. We got back to the mechanics lab where our escape bathysphere awaited repairs. After removing her clunky diving suit, IF got to work on the bathysphere while I watched a fight going on at a distant area. I could see through the windows that there was a fight going on in a large tunnel. Two sides fought for a small girl in the middle of the field, protected by a hulking giant that was even bigger than a Big Brother. The enormous fighter protected the little girl from every shot fired and attack made. It made me smile to see such care placed over her. Once the fight was over, he offered his hand and the little girl happily accepted. The hulk placed her on his shoulder and began walking. He couldn't express it with words, but he cared about the little one.

"Something on your mind?" IF asked, appearing beside me and watching the big hulk carry off his little female friend.

"Tell me, do you think I'm a good brother for Nepgear?" I asked.

"I've watched over her like I was her sister for quite a while. If you haven't been driven nuts by her and her psycho friends yet, I think you'll do fine," IF shrugged and motioned for me to follow her into the bathysphere.

"I take it you're one of her psycho friends?"

"Might as well be. If ya can't beat 'em, join 'em."

"Well then, psycho, allow me the honor of joining you in the looney bin we call our circle of friends," I joked as I climbed inside the sphere with her.

The sphere was just like the one we got to Aether on, just a little more cleaned up and maintained. I took a look at my battleaxe, the blood gone from it's metallic edge. But in the reflection of the blade, I could see an image of my mother and father smiling. Perhaps it was destiny showing me the way to go, perhaps it was a sign that my "psychotic friends" were having an effect on me, or maybe it was because I really did miss them. I smiled as I looked down at my blade, enjoying the little comfort I could get from my parents.

"Hey, you gonna watch your blade the whole way home?" IF asked, waving her hand in front of my face.

"Heh, sorry. Whatcha wanna talk about?" I asked gently, resting on the circular seat of cushions and looking at IF with a warm smile. Our destination was set, and now all we have to do is wait. And while we waited, we also finally removed that smelly diving suit that we had been wearing the whole trip.

IF passed me a few documents, "First, take a look at this."

I read over the documents in the dim light we had, and was shocked to see the contents. They were shipping manifests, which normally wouldn't hold anything important, but under the supplier's name was Leanbox, not Lastation.

"Looks like Lastation's off the hook for their toxic mess." I noted.

"Exactly. If we can get Lastation and Lowee talking again, we can make some progress in the whole Gamindustry restoration thing."

Curious, I asked her, "Where'd you find these?"

She shuddered and said, "You really don't wanna know."

[+-o-+]

The bathysphere hit shore finally, jolting us both awake. The door opened and let in some thick light that blinded us both.

"Dammit, just five more minutes..." IF sighed, hiding her face from the sunlight. I could smell the hint of ocean breeze mixed in with the rust hanging all over the inside of the bathysphere.

"I found them! I really found them! I'm not lying this time!" A distinct nurse's voice shout.

My legs didn't want to move, but after some effort I made my way outside, and was grapple-hugged by Nepgear who looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"Hey, no crying. I'm alive, see?" I comforted the girl while she held onto me for dear life.

"What, no hug for me?" IF complained as she climbed out of the bathysphere. Compa hugged onto her and almost refused to let go for a while, claiming how she was worried to death over us.

"Glad to see you made it out alive, trooper," Valve added, sporting a different getup. She had a pink jacket on with a green tank-top underneath and wore simple blue cargo jeans. Though it seemed she hadn't swapped out her combat boots.

"Someone's changed their color palette. Is this Nepgear's work?" I asked, still hugging the worried Nepgear.

"Nah, just figured it was time for a change. Kinda like when you change your GamerSign after having it for, like, three years," said Valve.

Nepgear finally let go and IF and Compa come to join us. I looked around to see where exactly I was even at. It looked like a resort, but there was alot of competition-like events going on here. There was a white building, gleaming from the broad sunlight, looking like a spa or something. A few people tanned on the nearby beach, assorted towels and umbrellas marking a sort of innocence that had been lacking form most of our adventure.

"So this is the Glory Fields?"


	11. Lowee Would Like To Play!

"So this is the Glory Fields? Looks like some sports resort," IF commented, following Nepgear closely through the endless list of sport courts and storage facilities. The sun was blinding, but that didn't hinder the performance of anyone around here. The fresh scent of ocean breeze was alluring enough to keep people relaxing here for hours. Up ahead was our white-walled hotel, made of a shining marble and sparkling glass. It made me think of Planeptune a little.

"It is, 'friendly competition' is Lowee's thing," started Valve, "Even though I've heard more curses come out of these people's mouths than what I say in a year,"

"Why are we here then? Can't we just head right on into Lowee?" asked IF.

"We can't. We need to get Entrance Vouchers in order to get in," Nepgear replied, handing a receptionist at the hotel a small paper. The receptionist eyed it closely, smiled, and handed it back. We were shown the way to our floor and room by Nepgear.

Without missing a beat, I asked, "Let me guess, we have to play these stupid sports games to get the vouchers?"

"Yup, but I think it'll be fun. There's alot to do here," said a cheery Nepgear.

"I've already got all three of mine and Compa's only missing one." said Valve.

"What about you Gear? You have any of your vouchers?" asked IF, playing with her phone that finally had signal. She had floods of e-mails and text messages that took her an hour or two just to read.

"Actually I was waiting for you two to come back, there's alot of two-person sports and I wanted to do them with you or Code. I mean, if you don't mind of course!" Nepgear hastily added her last sentence as she opened the door to our hotel room.

IF gave a quick smirk and said, "Silly, you shouldn't have waited on us, but," IF knew what she wanted to say and was about to say it when her mind side-tracked to something a little better, "I'm better at one person sports. I'm sure Code wouldn't mind."

"Would you like to play some of the sports with me?" Nepgear asked kindly.

I smiled and shrugged, "You really think I'm gonna say no? Let's decide what we're going to do."

"Wait, Cody, you're going to need a Nerd Code to play anything!" Compa objected, "Same for you Iffy!"

"A...what?" IF asked with a raised brow.

I said in confusion, "My thoughts exactly. What in the Nether is a Nerd Code?"

Nepgear and Valve pulled out ID cards that were riddled with strange markings and letters and symbols that I just couldn't comprehend.

"What is this? 1337?" IF asked, scratching her head and trying to look closer at the ID cards.

"If it is, it's gonna spawn me a headache that I really don't need." I said with narrowed eyes.

"You don't actually have to read it. They're just here so you can get into the sports places." stated Nepgear, putting her ID away and leading IF and I out to a eastern wing of our hotel.

Once we were on the ground floor, we headed down a complex of halls going to the administration office. In the distance, I could hear some very familiar voices shouting and bitching in disdain.

"M4n, y 73h h311 d0 w3 n33d 7h353 57up1d c0d35 ju57 2 p14y 50m3 57up1d 5p0r75?" Overkill complained, messing with his Universal Loweemote. He neglected to even put on the wrist strap, just waving it around and threatening to break anything nearby with his stupidity.

"Our ranks should be enough to earn us pro status already, to be using such inferior equipment is demeaning," Overdrive argued with the administrator standing stiffly at the registration desks. She'd just continue to inform him that their personal ranks didn't make any difference.

Approaching us with a rigid gait, Headshot said disdainfully, "What're you noobcakes doing here?"

"The hell does it look like we're doing, noobcake?" IF shot back to him. I could already see Headshot gripping his shotgun with a tight hand.

"50und5 1!k3 73h n0085 w4n7 7h31r unf17 45535 k1ck3d!" Overkill earned a demonic smile that gave even me the chills.

"Sit the hell down idiot, we aren't here to spill blood, we've got better things to do," I shot brutally at him, shoving aside Headshot to get to the admin's desk.

"Just you wait noobs, we'll take you down soon enough!" Headshot shook an angry finger at me as he grouped together his teammates.

"We'll see about that," IF shouted at them as they walked away, "Jerks."

"Why are they so mean to us? I just don't get it," Nepgear worried with a softened voice.

"Because anymore, humans don't have brains," I said bluntly.

"I don't think that's true...they have brains..."

"They just don't choose to use them," IF finished Nepgear's sentence, slowly calming down from another heated argument with the Faith Breakers.

After registration, I examined the Universal Loweemote closely to make sure there wasn't anything I was missing about this little device. The snow-white remote was cold to the touch and sported many soft buttons, lined with clear plastics. I already found a hidden button attached on the underside that I had no idea about. This thing was a little hard to hold. It didn't even feel like I was holding it right, despite my fingers able to reach and hit all the buttons with no problem.

"Well, let's get back to the hotel room, we need to plan our schedules for tomorrow. Let's try to knock this voucher crap out in one day." IF said with enthusiasm. Nepgear and I both agreed to do our best for tomorrow, I could already tell it was gonna be quite an adventure. I sucked at sports!

/o_.+._o\

IF looked around on the laptop supplied at the hotel. Her target was to find someone that illegally made vouchers. If she didn't have to waste time earning them, she wasn't past going down a bad route to get them. Her search was fruitless though, most sites already being taken down by Lowee's security filters. The laptop itself was too low tech to be much use to her.

"Damn, this just isn't gonna happen is it?" IF whispered angrily to herself. The others were still asleep and she didn't want to wake them. Valve, however, still not asleep, could hear every swear and curse she made. Still awake, I peeked from my covers to watch what happened. Little did IF know, Valve loomed behind her, watching her look up countless hacking sites and voucher sales.

Valve looked closely at the computer, gave a fake gasp, and said, "IF, are you trying to cheat?"

She wore a guilty look as she said, "Maybe..."

"I don't blame you. But in all honesty, it's not that hard," Valve said quietly, being an odd voice of reason.

"Still, I've already tried to hack into the database several times," IF rebutted weakly.

Valve, leaning against the white computer chair, said, "Just go with it, I won't let anyone know what you were doing."

IF sighed a deep forlorn sigh that radiated as much heat as her strained laptop, "I suppose it wont kill me either to spend a day keeping my body in shape."

"It wont. So come on, let's get some sleep for tomorrow," Valve motioned for her to go to the bed Compa shared with IF. She always had some strange reason for wanting to sleep with Compa when everyone had to share beds. Valve and Nepgear shared a bed, whereas I ended up practically begging Nepgear to just let me sleep on the couch. There was only two beds and she wanted me to share one with her but the little voice inside my head kept saying, "This is too awkward. Find another place to sleep."

It didn't take me long to get back to sleep after all the ruckus was over, but before I passed out, I wondered if there really was a way to hack our way to some vouchers.

/o_.+._o\

"Okay, so we have golf, then skateboarding, and we'll go from there?" Nepgear asked, looking at the schedule I made for us while we waited in an outdoor plaza decorated with Lowee's odd white monuments. Since Compa and Valve already had some of their vouchers, we really didn't need to worry about them. They were doing single person sports anyways. As far as I was aware, Valve was still relaxing in at the IF chose to do tennis, track, and basketball. She left quite early in the morning, right when the facilities opened. Even super early in the morning, there were people participating in the sports. Of course, some of them also went to the hot tubs in the spa, which is somewhere I'd really like to go later. We probably wouldn't be able to if we planned to knock out all three vouchers in one day, but if there was time, I wouldn't mind a quick dip in the hot tub. It's rather cold around the resort until it hits midday.

"Yup, lets'a go!" I rushed her out to the fields where we had our game of golf ready for us.

The admission booth, clad in a glimmering, white steel, had a friendly associate, adorned with tennis apparel. Quickly exchanging our Nerd Codes with the associate, she handed them back and instructed us to our lush, green courses. It was three holes and our opponants were already decided. I could just barely see to our fields, but what I made out disturbed me. I saw that cocky little runt Overkill with his headstrong asshole of a leader, Headshot. "Oh boy, this is gonna be fun," I sighed. Not only did I not know how to properly play golf, but now I would get to listen to a pair of numb-nuts preach to me about how much I suck. They probably weren't any better, but that wont keep them from trash-talking.

"At least we're playing against people we know." Nepgear tried to look at the cheery side, but I didn't think even that will get us past the incoming annoyances.

The moment we came into range, Overkill shouted, "Y0u n0085?" He pointed his golf club at us. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to use that as a melee weapon against me, nor would I be surprised if it somehow made a giant shockwave as it hit the ground too.

"Yes, 'us noobs'. You gonna complain or are we actually gonna play some golf?" I shot back to him. As we entered the golfing fields, our Loweemotes conveniently changed their forms into golfclubs.

"Sure, we don't mind kicking some ass today," Headshot tossed a golf ball in his hand.

We tossed a coin to see who went first. The brain-dead brothers ended up going first. Nepgear and I readied ourselves by practicing. I was going first, playing the current hole and letting Nepgear play the next hole. The third one was our choice.

"Now, watch and learn kiddies," Headshot boasted again, taking a mighty swing and launching the ball towards the straight-forward path to the hole. The wind was picking up the ball in midair and slowly diverting it to a dirty sandpit.

"wh47 w45 !7 w3 w3r3 5upp053d 70 134rn fr0m 7h47?" an aggravated Overkill asked.

"How to suck?" I replied with a snicker.

Almost throwing his unsecured golf club, Headshot shouted, "Hey, screw you! That was all the wind's fault." He refused to admit his defeat, moving out of the way to let me go. It was easy to pick my blue colored ball out from Nepgear's purple balls. I aimed according to which way the wind was blowing, moving to the side little by little.

Impatiently, Headshot tapped his foot and asked, "Sometime today?"

I replied subtly, "Can't rush perfection."

I raised my club over my shoulder and swung as hard as I could, sending the golf ball flying to the side. It slowly drifted back into a proper course and landed just around a yard from the hole. I switched clubs and walked to my ball with Nepgear in tow.

"That was a great shot," Nepgear complimented with her sweet voice.

I gave her a smile and said, "Thanks, I'm sure you'll do just as good on the next hole."

Headshot gave a mumbled moan as he neared his ball. It was just a little over halfway there. I looked over my shoulder and gave a quiet snicker. Watching others fail was so much fun, I'd almost wished I had brought my camcorder so I can make a Let's Fail video to post on Yourtube. His next shot got him closer to the hole, but my next shot got me a birdie, pushing those idiots into outright rage. After the idiots having to settle with par, we made our way to the next hole. It wasn't far from the first hole, but our walk out in the now-hot sun was enough to wear us out.

Both of our teams could agree that the walk to the next hole was a pain in the ass. Overkill said with a grumbling voice, "wh3r3 7h3 h311 4r3 7h053 g01f c4r7 7h!n6s wh3n y0u n33d 7h3m?"

"I don't know, but I could definitely go for one right now. This place heats up way too fast for walking." I replied.

"No kidding." Headshot finished.

The next hole, recently vacated by some other golfers, was an L-shaped design. It was dotted with sandpits, and the course was generally narrow.

"Alright, sister, you've got this," I encouraged Nepgear, standing patiently behind her. She practiced a few times, very quickly hoisting the golfclub over her shoulder and swinging it to an estimate of where the ball was going to be. She took a few steps forward and prepared herself. I was behind her, watching her closely when I noticed something very bad. I didn't have time to say anything though, she had already swung back and the Loweemote shot out of her hand and was aimed for my face. I felt the hard metal crush my nose in and knock me on my back. Nepgear just stared in amazement at her hands that no longer held her club. She looked behind her and her eyes widened.

"I'm so sorry brother, I really am, I didn't mean to do that!" She shouted, helping me back up. My nose was just a little bloody and hurt, but I was fine otherwise.

"I'm fine, I think," I said with an exhausted breath. I gave her the club back and pointed to the strap hanging limp from the bottom of the club, "They put wrist-straps on these things for a reason. To avoid any further injuries to your teammate, please try to wear that."

"I'm really sorry, I promise I'll use it," She said with a quiet and sad voice.

Headshot and Overkill were both laughing so hard that I couldn't hear them breathing. I could only wish they'd stop breathing entirely. "Yeah, yeah, you just laugh it up there Sandy," I mocked Headshot, getting an angry expression from him.

Nepgear took point at the golf tee again, this time making sure she had a grip on the club. Just in case, I stood out of the way of her while she swung. She made the ball fly quite a ways, up until some eagle snatched her ball right out of the air.

"What the goodness?" Nepgear sighed, watching the bird fly off. Headshot and Overkill officially had stopped breathing from laughing too hard. Normally I'd be laughing too if I wasn't on the receiving end of the error.

"I think that would be classified as a foul," I gave a disgruntled expression and fetched her another ball. We just lost that advantage the birdie from the last hole gave us. Nepgear gave it her best on the L-shaped course, almost losing the ball in a lake but at least earning us par for this course. Headshot and his partner earned par as well, leaving us in a tie for the moment. The last hole was the longest and the hardest, sheer cliffs and deep sandpits scattered along the path and the course making a perfect C-shape with a corner that couldn't be cut. We were taking the long way, working our way to the hole while also keeping track of the high par for this course. Nepgear felt bad about accidentally hitting me with the golf club so she took over the hole. I wasn't about to complain, my head was killing me.

"This is quite a workout," Nepgear commented, watching her ball soar to the hole. The sun made it hard to see where it was going but I could tell it was going the right way. I sat on a nearby stump, not far from Overkill who sat on a flat rock. Headshot took his time choosing how he was going to swing, finally sending the ball flying towards a sandpit. He was already cussing and swearing until it just barely missed the pit and landed near the hole. Nepgear and Headshot were not far from each other, if this game ends up a tie though, at least both of us get vouchers. As I had expected, this game ended up a perfect tie. There was an exit nearby that gave us our vouchers as we left the wrought-iron gates leading to another white plaza. Our Loweemotes shifted back to their regular forms as we left the golf course.

Approaching us, Headshot asked, "What are you two nooblets doing next?"

"Skateboarding," Nepgear replied.

"Wanna see how a real pro rides the boards then?" Headshot asked.

I took that as an invitation to skate against him. I knew how to skateboard at least, but I worried about Nepgear. Hopefully she wouldn't hurt herself doing that.

"Uhm, we're going to go skateboarding next, but first we want to get something to eat. Would you like to join us?" Nepgear politely asked.

Headshot gave a hardy laugh and said, "Maybe next time princess, we've got practicing to do. Come on Overkill."

"dud3, 1'd k1nd4 1!k3 70 347! 1'm 574rv1ng!" Overkill complained.

"We can eat later, when there aren't noobs around." Headshot pushed Overkill forward to the direction of the skatepark.

"Rule one of this world: Don't feed the trolls. You feed them once, they come back for more." I advised Nepgear, leading her to the small food court they had not far from here. I paid for her food, not minding that I was still low on money after buying all that sarsaparilla at Lastation. I missed my special drink, but I settled for some Creature Energy.

"What do you mean by troll? They don't look like trolls." Nepgear said, wearing a puzzled expression.

I let out a soft chuckle and said, "Don't worry about."

/o_.+._o\

Valve, relaxing in her hotel room, was tempted to go on ahead into Lowee and wait for the others. Unwilling to do so, Valve told herself that she wouldn't be able to come back. Something about the situation radiated a vibe of unease. It was like she knew something wasn't right.

"Valvie, I'm heading out to do some ping-pong! I'll be back soon, promise!" Compa said, stepping towards the door with her usual sweater and skirt combination that was perfect for the midday Lowee weather.

Before Compa could step out of the white hotel door, Valve beckoned Compa. "Hey, tell me, do you feel something up in the air?"

Compa, wearing a look of confusion, asked, "Do you mean like that weird smell of teriyaki I keep smelling downstairs?"

"No, not the cooking marathons. I mean, like a sort of uneasiness. Like something's wrong."

"I can't think of anything. Should there be something wrong?"

Valve, uncertain herself, said ambiguously, "I'm beginning to wonder. Be careful out there, okay?"

Compa gave a stern nod with a smile, saying as she left, "I'll take good care of myself!"

Just as she had left, Valve told herself, "Just follow for a little while. Paranoia or not, I'm just looking out for a friend."

A minute later, Valve took off, determined to keep an eye on her favorite airhead.

/o_.+._o\

While we were at a moment of peace, I told Nepgear, "You know, you should probably go ahead and call Histoire while we're having a break. Wouldn't hurt to check up on Planeptune." Little did I know, upon saying that, I made a few heads turn. Nepgear wholeheartedly agreed and spent the next half an hour catching up with the Oracle.

With that going on in the background, I took it upon myself to call up IF. I could only hope that she wasn't in the middle of a sport.

"Hello?" IF greeted.

"Hey. Just calling to see if everything was going alright." I stated.

"So far, so good. Haven't seen heads or tails of Valve or Compa, but I could only assume that they were staying out of trouble. How're things on your end?"

I couldn't complain about our victories against the Faith Breakers, but I warned IF nonetheless. "We're doing alright, making progress and all, but you might want to watch yourself. The Faith Breakers are pretty active right now, don't want you getting caught off-guard. Keep an eye out for yourself, and the others should you see them."

"I'll keep that in mind. Catch ya later, I'll let you know if I hear or see anything."

"Wilco. Later, IF."

Done with our brief conversation, I took a look around the food court, occasionally watching some nearby tennis players. The food court was distracting to say the least for the competitors, but some people just can't resist the urge for food. I'd mess around with my Loweemote here and there, and sometimes get up to order some food.

"Hey, Cody! Ge-ge!" a distant voice beckoned, quickly approaching.

I turned around to see Compa approaching, greeting her quickly with a simple, "Hey Compa."

"Hello Compa," Nepgear greeted, "How're you doing?"

"Great! I'm getting ready to go get my last voucher."

Giving a thumbs-up, I said, "Good on ya."

"So what're you two up to?" asked Compa.

"We're gonna go skateboard here in a few." Nepgear announced, eating some of the food I brought back for her.

Compa smiled and said, "Sounds fun, but it kinda sounds different for you."

"How so?" I asked.

"Hmm, it seems a little odd for polite little Ge-Ge to be skateboarding with the hoodlums!"

I couldn't argue with her, but that hardly mattered at the moment. I said with a half-smile, "Not much we can change about that. Unless you want to give Miss Nepgear a makeover."

Something about that idea clicked in all the wrong ways with Compa.

"Oh, you mean like a new outfit? I think I saw a gift shop not far from here."

And as much as I didn't want to admit it, I liked where the conversation was going.

"I-I don't know about all that." Nepgear stuttered, firmly sitting with her head held down. She kept her gaze adverted, but not a lot of good that was going to do.

"Come on Ge-Ge, maybe just a little change? You can't skate with your outfit now. All the boys will look up your skirt!"

"Not like it's permanant or anything." I agreed with Compa. She could've been a little quieter with her last sentence though.

Compa urged Nepgear up and over to a gift shop where they proceeded to pick out a list of different clothes. I was eager to see where things were going to go. Patiently waiting outside, I heard a noise coming from the back, something that sounded like stuttering and shuffling. Nepgear approached with an almost unbelievable get-up. Planeptune T-shirt, cargo jeans, sneakers, and a purple beanie to top it all off made it extremely difficult to believe I was still staring at the CPU of Planeptune.

"See, it isn't that bad!" said Compa.

"I-I d-don't quite k-know about this!" Nepgear said, shaken more than she should've been.

"The CPU as a Sk8ter Gurl, huh? I never would've thought I'd see the day!" I stated. I was certainly enjoying myself a lot more than I should've been. Though, the time for showcasing was over. We had to get over to the skatepark soon.

With a smirk on my face that could be seen from a mile away, I said to Compa, "See ya later!"

"Bye Ge-Ge, bye Cody!" Compa said cheerfully.

As we walked toward the skatepark, Nepgear was quiet as could be and rather withdrawn as well. I could only imagine why, but I wouldn't imagine a change in wardrobe to bother her so much.

"Lighten up some, Miss Nepgear. I think you look fine right now. Compa had a point anyways," I said.

"I know. I just don't feel right in these baggy clothes. How do you do it?" asked Nepgear.

"Don't fight the clothes. Let them meld and they wont get in your way. And most importantly, relax. You can change later after all," I told her, giving her a quick pat on the head. I at least got her to smile for a moment as we approached the park. The park had a large neon sign hanging on a metallic archway that said, "Skateboard Wasteland".

"Wonder if it's complete with skateboarding punks that'll steal your crap and run off with it," I mumbled to myself, secretely laughing as well. I could already see Overkill and Headshot practicing their moves. As we entered the park, our Loweemotes changed to skateboards, plopping on the ground. I hadn't noticed until I picked mine up to carry, but they had some really nice sketches on the bottom. Mine had a battleaxe at one end and a warhammer at the other and had the words "Code Smasher" etched in a vivid blue.

"I'm not quite sure if I can do this, Code," Nepgear said quietly.

"You can do it sister, you'll be fine, I'm sure you will. Just do your best, nobody will be mad at you for that," I said. She looked at me with her soft, beady eyes and gave a quick smile, throwing down her board and skating the rest of the way to our opponents. I did the same, meeting up with them.

"700k u 10n6 3n0u6h..." Overkill complained, holding his board with his detailed side showing for everyone to see. His had a bloody meat cleaver on the middle with "For The Horde" etched under it. I couldn't make out what Headshot's had, he had it held too low for me to see.

"Well, we're here. How're we going about doing this?" I asked bluntly. There wasn't too many skateboarders around, but the ones that were here knew their stuff, chaining together incredible combos and pulling off amazing tricks. I only knew some basics of skateboarding, but I didn't honestly think I'd ever be able to match their skills.

"We're going to play Pig. Just match our combos, and if you can't keep up, which you likely wont, you get a letter added. We'll alternate between our teammates," Headshot informed.

Overkill was first to go, speeding up and down a half-pipe until he gained enough height to reach the ledge of a parallel building. He performed some simple lip-tricks and dropped back down to the half-pipe. He had a little too much force put towards his front end and accidentally caught his front axel on the lip of the half-pipe. His board stopped dead but he didn't, his face colliding with the wooden surface.

"50n 0f 4 817ch! 1 h473 gr4v!7y!" He screamed, holding his bloody face.

"That's a fail," Headshot sighed.

"That's also a letter on you two. Looks like it's our go," I smirked, heading to a long grinding rail that was next to a metal awning shadowing some benches and soda machines. The park was well made, it looked just like it was part of a small town but it still had all the things needed for a nice skating experience. I took off for a long grind down the rail, switching my grinding types between using my back and front ends. My board, leaving sparks in its wake, held strong to my grinding session. After a couple seconds of switching, I made a mighty jump to the awning, grinding on the lip of it. Once I was done, I jumped back down to the long rail and finished my long grind. Headshot was going to copy my grind as well as he could, but I had the feeling his attempt wasn't going to end well.

After giving an obligatory boast, Headshot began his grind with a firm stature, up until he missed his jump and rammed his crotch into the rail.

"Hehe, that's an epic fail. How does it feel to lose your nuts to a metal bar?" I taunted him. He gave me a swift but limp punch to my arm.

Nepgear, up next, gave that worried look again. She said softly, "I still don't know about this."

After giving her some words of encouragement, I gave her a quick run down of what I wanted her to try to do. I was sure even she'd be able to do a few simple kickflips and maybe a few grabs. She took off down the ramp and was doing well at gaining speed. Her legs couldn't hold for the kickflips though, and she rolled back down the ramp. I rushed over and helped her up, lending her my shoulder until she could walk on her own.

"5uch n0085!" Overkill taunted.

"Says the one that can't even tell where his front axel is." I shot back. He shut up pretty quick after that comment. Overkill was next to go, riding off a nearby wall and pushing himself to a high-wire that he grinded to the top of a building before dropping down into a half-pipe and finishing his run off with a few lip tricks. "Well, this might be a little harder," I whispered to myself.

He dismounted from his board and said, "70p 7h47 n008!"

I gave myself a quick boost of encouragement and mounted my board. I rode along the wall and pushed myself up to the high wire. I didn't have enough speed to fully clear the wire and ended up falling from the wire, hitting the ground hard. Nepgear rushed over to me and tried to help but I told her it was alright.

"It's alright sister, I'll be fine." I said, holding myself up by my board. Overkill and Headshot were laughing their asses off from my failure but I didn't care. We were tied for the lead now, and there had to be a winner and loser. Next up was Headshot, preparing himself with some stretching and pointless excercises before hopping on his board.

"Watch how a real pro does it." He boasted, gaining as much speed as he could and launching up the side of a building, clearing the roof and into a bowl at the top of it. He made a long grind around the lip of the bowl before finally jumping back down the ramp he used earlier and stopping next to his partner. I knew this was going to be extremely hard for poor Nepgear, but we couldn't just back down.

Nepgear was about to push off for the ramp when I motioned for her to come near. I whispered a set of instructions to her, making her smile and agree. She transformed to her HDD form and took off on the board, her weightlessness giving her just the edge she needed to finish off the idiots. Her transformation stunned nearby people, stopping a lot of skaters dead in their tracks to watch the CPU of Planeptune skate.

"w311 7h475 707411y n07 ch347!ng!" shouted Overkill.

Headshot, watching Nepgear rip up the half pipe better than Overkill, said to himself, "Well this could be a problem."

She finished the run and sent the two idiots on their way. They mumbled and grumbled as they walked away, probably pissed off beyond all belief now. The Faith Breakers didn't even want to bother exchanging their dialogue of defeat.

Nepgear, approaching me with a warm smile, reverted to her regular form, skater garb and all. "Did I do good?"

"You did great. Good job," I said, giving her a pat on the head.

Holding her hands innocently behind her back, Nepgear said, "So, that makes two vouchers. We just need one more, so what will we do, brother?"

I walked around wondering what we could both do that wouldn't cause us too much grief. My eyes were caught on a poster nearby that informed people about the Lowee Sports Center's newest attraction, Rock Hero.

"This looks good enough. Want to try it?" I asked, bringing Nepgear, or rather, Purple Sister over to me with her little fanbase following.

"What is it? I've never seen this game before."

"It's a music game where you play your favorite song with your favorite instrument. I think it'd be fun and easy for us to do." I briefly explained, keeping my eyes on the crowd still gaping over Purple Sister. I wished that I had my axe with me in case one of the idiots decided to try something stupid, but according to the Sports Center's rules, all outside objects except for food and drink were to be kept in the hotels.

Nepgear said with vigor, "That sounds fun! I'll go see if Compa wants to join us." She ran off to the food court with her phone in hand.

The group of skaters that were watching her like stalkers approached me. Their rag-tag appearances were rather gross but I wasn't about to say anything. Though it wouldn't kill the kids to pull their damned pants up. "Dude, tell me you're hitting on that." One of the skater punks said with a vulgar sounding voice.

"Hitting on that?" I asked with a bewildered expression.

"You know, dating? Tapping that? Screwin' the pooch?"

With a strict voice and a stone-cold gaze, I shot back, "I've no plans on dating her, I'm here to protect her, not make-out with her."

"Protect? Dude, that's the CPU of Planeptune, you should be nailing that girl left and right. Or are you just a chicken?"

The kids began to mock me with chicken noises like five-year-olds would do.

"She's the closest thing I have to family, I consider her a sister and nothing on the world will get me to break that, end of discussion," I shot back angrily, storming off for the food court where a reverted Nepgear awaited.

Nepgear looked over her shoulder and said, "Compa's gonna play with us once she finished her ping-pong match. Iffy's gonna come too once she finishes her tennis game."

"That's good, let's head on over there then, shall we?" I motioned for her to follow me to the auditorium.

/o_.+._o\

Valve took only a few minutes to catch back up with Compa. So far, nothing drastic has happened to her, but Valve still anticipated a problem. It didn't help that she had been seeing shadows in the corners of her vision since she left the hotel. Her eyes watched every passerby that even glanced at Compa. Unable to sort out that uneasy feeling, Valve waited patiently even after Compa had entered the winter-white ping-pong auditorium.

Sitting down in one of the lounge chairs reserved for the viewers, Valve watched Compa closely, Compa leaving briefly for the restrooms. In a nearby chair laid the Universal Loweemote that Compa had carelessly left behind. Eyes trained on it, Valve anticipated what was about to happen. Out of the crowd came a shifty boy, clad in a rugged, red armor that couldn't stand out more in the group of atheletes.

"Just as I thought," Valve thought to herself. The boy in the armor quickly tampered with the machine, and judging from his quick, hastened movements, he wasn't doing anything good with it. Wisely, Valve didn't confront the boy. Rather, she waited until he was done performing his devious act before stepping in. Her expertise with hardware was limited, but what she could do would save Compa from the overload the boy placed on the Universal Loweemote. If Valve hadn't stepped in, the machine would've exploded upon conversion to a new form.

"I'm not gonna hold this against her," Valve said to herself. "However, I'm not gonna leave just yet."

Once her job was done, Valve planted herself firmly out of sight, watching over Compa while she earned her last voucher. Dead quiet, Valve anticipated Compa to finish soon and head back to the hotel. As far as she was aware, Compa had no idea Valve was around, Her head down, looking up only occasionally, heard a voice near her ask, "Done watching?"

Valve immediately thrusted her head up, locking eyes with the airheaded healer herself. Her face twisted into guilt, followed by a sigh.

Compa kept her smile the whole time, waiting a long minute before saying, "I knew you were watching. I don't mind, but if you don't mind me asking, what were you doing with my thingy earlier?"

"Someone tried to sabotage it. I was fixing it."

Giving a surprised gasp, Compa asked, "What meanie did that?"

"I don't know who he was."

Compa, dropping the matter entirely, smiled warmly to Valve and said, "Oh well. Thank you for looking out for me Valvie!"

With a very slight blush, Valve said, "I-it's nothing."

The two left the arena, with the intent of heading to the hotel. On the way, Compa asked Valve, "So why did you follow me today? Was it because of what you said at the hotel room?"

"I heard some noises last night after convincing IF to quit trying to hack her vouchers." Upon saying that, Valve's eyes widened, and she whispered loudly, "Crap. I wasn't supposed to say that. I was not supposed to say that."

Compa, with a grin and a shake of her head, said, "I had a feeling Iffy would do something like that."

"Please don't tell her I spilled the beans like that." Valve begged.

"Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me!" said Compa confidently.

/o_.+._o\

"Let's see, I've done track, basketball, and I just need a partner for tennis to beat and I'll be done," IF looked up from her cell phone and noticed the perfect opponant for tennis. He wore a camo shirt and camo cargo jeans and was looking around for a suitable opponant, mumbling to himself.

"Hey, soldier boy, looking for some competition?" IF asked with a headstrong voice.

"Your rank's just right. Let's get to it," Overdrive motioned for her to come into the tennis court. Their Loweemotes changed to tennis rackets and they agreed to play one set to fifteen points.

"Ready?" IF asked, tossing the tennis ball in her hand.

"Ready," Overdrive replied.

IF tossed the ball high in the air and launched it as hard as she could to Overdrive. He was just barely able to keep up with the ball's speed, but once the game was going, they lasted a good five minutes before IF just barely gave out and missed the ball.

"Not bad, not bad at all. I think you'll be a worthwhile opponant," Overdrive complimented.

"Hmph, I take that as a compliment?" IF smirked, launching the ball at him. Their skills were well balanced, they ended up trading the ball for minutes at a time and stretching the game out to a full hours length before IF eventually lost to him.

"You're pretty good," Overdrive complimented again.

IF gave him a raised brow and asked, "Did you get hit on the head or something? I don't recall you little clan ever being nice to us before."

"I may be part of that...clan, " Overdrive hesitated, "But I do have respect for worthy opponants."

Slyly, IF asked"Well, perhaps that respect can get me my last voucher?"

"I think that can be in order," Overdrive said with a brief and hardly visible smile. Overdrive "pretended" to lose to get IF her last voucher, swallowing his pride to help out a worthwhile opponant. The two left the tennis court and were greeted by a pair of bumbling clan members.

"U g07 0wn3d 8y 4 gir1 101," laughed Overkill.

"Dude, you really need to get your shit together, you're not helping us by losing against a noob," Headshot scolded, crossing his arms and looking at Overdrive with an angry glare.

IF, in the defense of Overdrive, said, "Uh, last I recall, you two got your asses kicked at skateboarding not long ago by us 'noobs'."

"7h47 w45 diff3r3n7!" Overkill shot back.

"Yeah, sure it was, you just boost up that faux pride and pretend nothing ever happened."

IF walked away with a smile, knowing she won that argument.

"Hey, where do you think you're going noob?" Headshot shouted to the distant IF.

"Auditorium. You're welcome to come get your asses kicked again," IF shouted back.

Headshot looked back to his comrads and said, "Well, looks like we've got a chance to redeem ourselves, let's get moving. That means you, Overdrive," Headshot ran off with Overkill, Overdrive trying to convince himself to work with the idiots for just a little while longer. His patience was worn out and he gritted his teeth every time that Headshot talked to him.

/o_.+._o\

"Everyone ready?" I asked, holding onto my keyboard. The auditorium automatically selected our instruments, giving me a keyboard, Compa a pair of drumsticks, and Nepgear a microphone. IF showed up not long ago inside the auditorium, going as far as to call in Valve and Compa as well. There was a total of five stages here, the one in the very back being reserved for us. The auditorium itself looked like a convention hall somewhat, the open floors and high ceiling made it seem a little bigger than probably needed.

"Well, well, seems we have our competition," I commented, watching the Faith Breakers approach us.

"Ready to get rocked, noob?" Headshot asked as he prepared his microphone. Overkill had drums and Overdrive had bass.

"Bring it then," I shot back, leading everyone to the stages.

The only thing on the stage itself was the drum kits and a metal bar hanging ahead of us with small screens to show what notes to play. There were screens mounted on the other side of the same bar so that the crowd could watch too. Everyone in position, the game selected our first and only song. Should be easy enough to beat these noobs at one song. Though I wish I could've got to play guitar instead of keyboard, I wasn't too good with my thumbs but I think I can pull this off. It's not too much different from guitar. Our song was Love & Peace and I could already tell I was in for a ride.

"3...2...1...Go!" The game announced, beginning the song and my piano entrance. It was hard to adapt, but I managed a decent intro, gaining a small crowd near the stage. The crowd made me sweat even more and grow a little uneasy. I wasn't used to being watched by a crowd unless it was in the Colliseum. Like the Tech Expo, I purposely wanted Nepgear to go for the display instead of me.

Nepgear and Headshot sang together, though it was obvious who was doing the better job. Just the voice of Nepgear drew in even more people, the small group of watchers quickly turning into a sea of people. Nepgear's performance was so much better than Headshot's, which his voice alone was making me cringe. It felt like his voice was possibly giving me cancer.

The crowd clapped along with the song and occasionally cheered on Nepgear. Meanwhile, the Faith Breakers were getting little to no attention at all, despite them not doing too bad other than the struggling Overdrive. At the end of the song, he was barely still in the game, something that would keep them from getting their vouchers at all.

The song ended and everyone clapped and cheered for us.

"I think they like us!" Compa said with a cheerful smile, getting up from the drum kit and taking a bow with us.

"Thanks everyone!" Nepgear gave the crowd a quick smile and took off down the stage with us in tow. We quickly met up with IF.

IF, looking up from her cell phone, pointed toward the bickering Faith Breakers that exchanged profane arguments amongst each other. She said with a smirk, "Wait for it."

"7h47 p3f0rm4nc3 w45 cr4p 7h4nk5 70 u!" Overkill shouted to Overdrive.

"What happened man? You were three damn steps behind!" Headshot complained.

"That's it! I'm tired of listening to you assholes!" Overdrive shouted loud enough for his voice to echo down the auditorium. Everyone's attention quickly went to Overdrive, who was well past angered.

"And the dam finally breaks..." IF commented, putting her phone up so she can watch the carnage.

"I've had it with you two always bagging on me, hating every damn thing I do. I try my best for you idiots and all you do is shove it back in my face and blame me for everything that goes wrong! You two really think you're perfect? You're worse than me!" Overdrive continued, pointing a shakey finger at the two of them.

"U ung473ful l177le-"

Overdrive punched Ovekill in the jaw hard enough to send him flying off the stage.

"Shut your damn mouth you annoying little brat! Half my frustraction comes from your incessant babbling, you damned five-year-old! And you..." Overdrive diverted his gaze to Headshot. "You always look down on me, despite me being better than you at so many things. I put together this clan, put it's name up high in the ranks, and did everything that you can only dream of doing. And this is the thanks I get? You shouting at my face for every damn thing that goes wrong? Well to hell with your damn clan, I'm out of here," Headshot gave him the middle finger as walked away, nearby guards coming in finally and escorting him to the hotel lobby where he can safely calm down.

"Goodness, I hope he'll be alright," said Nepgear.

"He'll be fine, but I'm more worried about Overkill there. Is he dead?" I asked, looking down at his unconcious corpse.

"I don't think he's dead, but he's gonna have one big headache when he wakes up!" said Compa. Even I had to admit, Overdrive gave him a pretty mean punch. That's some strength right there to send a man flying almost six yards away.

IF said firmly, "Come on everyone, let's not worry. I say we all go to the spa for a while, I think we've earned a break."

"I'm down with that," I shrugged. Compa happily agreed and we made our way to the spa. It was designed to look like a mountain lodge, made of wooden logs with windows carved into them. The inside was warm and toasty, just the right temperature for a relaxing night. There was a waiting room, a reception desk, and a couple of doors leading to the men's and women's locker rooms.

Nepgear showed the receptionist our Nerd Codes and she happily gave us access to the spa along with our own lockers. I went to the men's locker room and pulled out a pair of Rock Hero brand swimming shorts. I wasn't gonna lie, they were some pretty sweet swimming shorts. I changed in the nearby bathroom and made my way to the hot tub outside. The tub itself was well past the size of a swimming pool and was surprisingly empty as far as people went. There was only two people here right now, but I'm sure more would show up later.

I slowly eased my way into the tub, sighing as I dropped inside, sitting on the stone bench made into the side of the tub. The girls came out and joined me, Nepgear taking a spot next to me and Compa taking a spot next to here.

It was nice to get to relax, we earned it after all the hell we'd gone through. The night sky was visible in the outside hot tub, the moon and stars gazing down at us with a peaceful night breeze wandering around. It was paradise under the starry sky...

/o_.+._o\

Overdrive sat at a bench in the hotel lobby, his mind pushed to his limit along with his patience. Even he couldn't believe how much he snapped at his former teammates. He knew what was best for himself though.

"Seems like you need new management," IF commented, taking a seat next to him.

Overdrive scoffed and said, "I don't even think you could call those idiots management, you can barely call them barbarians."

"I hear ya, sometimes it's just hard to believe the stuff you get yourself wrapped up in," said IF.

"Are all clans like this?"

"Eh, mine's filled with psychos, but they're my psychos and I really don't know where I'd be without 'em," said IF, looking over to Overdrive.

"I don't suppose you have room for one more psycho?" Overdrive asked, looking at IF with his navy blue eyes hidden behind his black hair that covered the left side of his face.

"Hmm, I don't know if I can handle the responsibility of just one more psycho," IF joked.

Overdrive laughed, something he didn't think he'd do for a while, and said, "I take that as a yes."

"I'm sure Nepgear won't mind. Go ahead and get your stuff packed and-" IF was intercepted by a text message.

"U shuld com to the spa w/us, the water's great!" Nepgear sent through a text.

"I'll tell ya what, how about we take a breather over at the spa? I think we both need the break," said IF.

"That sounds pretty damn good right now. Let's go," Overdrive said, following IF to the cabin-like spa. Both of them presented their Nerd Codes and got dressed for the occasion. The two felt great entering the hot tub with the others, and Overdrive quickly felt at home with the others, sharing stories and such with them and realizing what a true clan should be like...


	12. Every Puzzle has an Answer

"It's w-way too cold here!" commented Valve, shivering in the warm-weather clothes she wore in from the Glory Fields.

"So what's the CPU like in Lowee?" I asked IF in front of me as we passed through the gates leading into Lowee. After spending three damned hours getting through security, the next person to ask me for my papers would probably tempt me to turn friendly fire off of Shredrix. I didn't know what was going on, but something had Lowee spooked.

IF laughed to herself and Nepgear gave a little nervous chuckle. Valve and Overdrive exchanged shrugs and I asked again what the CPU was like.

"First off, there's actually two CPU's here. Second of all...well...how to put this?" IF pondered to herself.

"The two are very young at heart," started Nepgear with a shakey voice, "But they're still great friends and are very nice to have around!"

A little more than concerned, I asked, "Might I ask how old they are?"

"They'd be around eleven, twelve, maybe thirteen," said Compa, stopping IF and Nepgear from stepping into open traffic. The cars here were even more technologically advanced than Lastation's, but that seemed to be the only thing that was technological. The rest was all mushrooms, colorful buildings, and snow bright enough to cause eye damage. Cold winds ran up and down the curvy streets, the scarce populace walking the snow-covered sidewalks dressed appropriately in colorful winter clothes. It was surprisingly quiet around, with only a few odd-looking hovercars running up and down the streets.

I paused for a second, widened my eyes, and muttered, "Uh-oh."

"What is it, Cody?" asked Compa with her innocent voice.

"Uh, nothing. Nothing at all, Compa," I addressed her then said, "Well, I think I'm going to go shop for some mods for Grindrix."

"Uh-uh, battle-boy, you're not going anywhere til we conduct a little diplomacy!" IF quickly shot back.

I raised a brow at her and said, "What do you need me for?"

"We need all of our team around in case of emergencies. Monster spawns are getting closer and closer to the cities, and there's no in-game boundaries to keep them from spawning any closer," explained IF, tapping on her pink phone with her fingers. None of the girls knew the area and didn't have a physical map, so my guess was that IF had a GPS on her phone. Either that or we were winging it until we found what we were looking for.

All the way to the Basilicom, IF glanced occasionally at me, making sure I was still there. Normally, I'd be expecting the paranoid one, Valve, to be watching me, but alas, she was more focused on maintaining her rifle. I had thought about seeing if she'd take a look at Shredrix for me, but it'd be my luck, she'd do something to it that'd reduce it's stats.

"Here we are, Lowee's Basilicom," said IF, walking through the marble-white front doors with us in tow. The whole building was styled in a curvy, glass-ridden figure like something out of the near future. The floor was decorated with a rug depicting some kind of historical event styled in 8-bit. The scent inside was strange, I couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, but it was refreshing, and honestly made me long to game.

"Damn, looks like they're preparing for a zombie apocalypse," commented Overdrive, looking at all the shining blades hanging from the walls. One blade had a trio of triangles on the hilt and looked like it was in a super-pristine condition. The chandelier lights glimmered off it's stainless blade and even blinded me at one point. Another weapon of interest was a beam katana of sorts. It looked like someone turned a neon light you'd see under a car into a weapon.

I heard a loud revving noise behind me, making me lose focus and look over my shoulder.

"Dude, this thing could freakin' rip through a horde of zombies like a sword through steel!" shouted Valve in glee, revving up a loud chainsaw that had the word "Mad" painted in blood on the side.

Nepgear's eyes widened as she said with a shakey voice, "Goodness, Valve, p-please put that down, you might break something."

"Aww, okay..." Valve said with a pout of disappointment.

I thought to myself, "What is something like that doing in Lowee anyways? I honestly couldn't see this magic-land in need of any bladed weapons."

"Oh, how nice it is to see you all again. I was wondering when you'd come for a visit," said a feminine voice near us. It wasn't any of our girls, that was for sure, it was so much more gentle and relaxed.

"Mina, it's nice to see you too," said Nepgear, offering a kind bow to the college graduate. I thought she was a college graduate anyways.

"Greetings," I nodded politely. Valve and Overdrive greeted Mina as well, trying to keep polite towards her.

"So what brings you all up to Lowee?" asked Mina, leading us to the Basilicom's discussion chamber. It was similar in design to Planeptunes, but it had a unique castle sort of feel to it. The glass was all stained glass of previous champions of the land and had magnificent architecture carved into it's walls. Hidden in the less decorated corners were the usual fancy metal supports, curved like a scimitar.

"We're on a search to find Sparks for a Sparkholder," IF bluntly explained.

"Oh my, that's quite something there. I haven't heard that name in a while," said Mina.

"Would you know where we should star-"

"Mina! I need help! I can't get the plastic stuff off my new Kingdom Spades game!" a young voice chimed from behind MIna, cutting off Nepgear's question.

"Now Ram, we have company, be polite," said Mina, helping a young girl in a thick pink snowsuit.

The little girl looked up, straight towards Nepgear, and moaned, "Aw, crap, it's Nepgear!"

"What the goodness? I thought we were friends still!" said a surprised Nepgear. IF and Compa chuckled while Valve and Overdrive exchanged shrugs yet again. I kept silent, holstering Grindrix by holding her over my shoulder.

Calm and collected, Overdrive asked quietly, "So you're one of the Lowee twins?"

"Yup! I'm Ram, the toughest of the two!" boasted Ram with a warm thumb pointed to her chest.

"Here you go. Now, if you wouldn't mind, would you go get Rom?" asked Mina with a gentle voice.

"What for?" asked Ram.

"I want you two to at least come out and see our old friends for a few minutes," replied Mina.

Ram pouted, but obeyed, knowing better than to disobey Mina. My guess was that Mina was Lowee's Oracle. She was very calm, wore a smile constantly, and knew how to handle her speech. She reminded me of Compa, but not as much of an airheaded ditz.

Ram returned with Rom in tow. Rom quickly recognized Nepgear and smiled warmly.

"It's...nice to see you again...Nepgear. IF and Compa...too..." Rom said in a soft-spoken voice that was somehow warm yet cold at the same time. Strangest damned thing, it was like her voice radiated a gentle warmth mixed with the cold silence of ice. It was sweet though, sweet-sounding to the ears. She certainly had more of an appeal than the other one. I still kept quiet, Valve and Overdrive observing the architecture, and IF and Compa planning something with Mina.

"Everybody, come over here!" shouted IF, grouping us together to introduce the noobs of the group.

"I'm Code Oprashunal," I briefly introduced myself, not wanting to attract any more attention than necessary.

"And I'm Valve, legendary zombie hunter of Lastation!" boasted Valve cheerfully.

Ram's eyes opened and she pointed a small finger at her and said, "You're the crazy zombie psychopath that let all the zombies out of Badger City!"

"Ram! It's not nice to point fingers at people," scolded Mina.

"It's true...I heard it on my radio..." said Rom.

"Hey! That was a lie and everyone knows it! I swear, I didn't start that!" replied Valve with a harsh quickness.

"Anyways, moving on with the introductions," IF attempted to break up any further conflict.

Still retaining his calmness, Overdrive said firmly, "I'm Overdrive, rank fifty three, third pristige, former member of the Faith Breakers."

"Alright, now that that's been taken care of, let's settle in and find somewhere to stay," said IF, taking command of our troop.

"I have plenty of spare bedrooms for you all to sleep in. Please, feel free to stay." offered Mina, seeing this as a good opportunity for the twins to interact with friends.

"That sounds fine to me," IF looked over her shoulder to us and asked, "Anyone else here agree?"

Everyone gave subtle agreements to stay, including me.

"We might need to get extra sheets though. Would you like for me to show you all to the marketplace? It's been moved around a lot since you were last here," said Mina. IF and the others needed to shop for themselves anyways.

"I'm going to stay here and play my new game!"

"I want to...listen to my radio..."

Ram and Rom were apparently going to stay too.

"Code, you can stay here and look after Ram and Rom while we head out shopping. If there's anything you remember that you need, you have a working phone and our numbers," said IF, leading a few group-members out of the Basilicom. Nepgear and Mina made some last minute discussions, as did Valve and Overdrive.

Holding back a sigh of disdain, I asked, "Why do I have to stay?"

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd like for you to watch over the twins and the Basilicom while we shop. I hope you don't mind," said Mina with an innocent gesture.

I gave the two an annoyed gesture and asked, "Can't Nepgear stay and watch them?"

"I kinda have some...personal shopping to do," said Nepgear.

"Valve? Overdrive? Can either of you back me up here?" I asked.

The both of them gave concerned expressions, giving their own excuses as to why I had to stay behind.

"I kinda wanted to see where the marketplace was..." I whispered to myself.

Nepgear neared me, clasped her hands together, looked at me with her beady eyes and said, "Please, Code? For me?"

Reluctantly, I agreed, taking up command of the Basilicom. Nepgear promised to return with something special just for me. That made me smile as they left the Basilicom. But when I turned around to see Ram and Rom still standing there, my smile quickly vanished. I knew it was mean, but if there's one thing in this world I hated more than competitive people, it's children. I just...have no patience for them.

Looking down at the two, I said quietly with an uneager expression riddled across my rigid facial features, "Seems I'm to watch over you two."

Ram quickly dismissed any words I had to say and abruptly stated, "I'm going back to the room. See you later weird kid."

"Wait...for me..." said Rom quietly.

I waited for them to be out of visual range, then laid down on a nearby sofa, Grindrix resting happily on my chest. I peeked my head up to the hallway the girls disappeared to and caught a glimpse of Rom peering back into the discussion chamber. "I can still see you over there." I said to her, my voice echoing in the rooms. That alone was probably what scared her off.

I was almost to sleep, or at least, to a half-concious and half-subconcious state, when a brown-haired girl loomed over me and quickly shook me awake. It scared me, making me jump slightly as I rose up on the couch.

"Weird kid, can you get us something to drink?" asked Ram.

I raised an eyebrow and asked, "Isn't there anything in the fridge or something?"

"We...drank everything good..." said Rom, standing beside her.

I wove my fingers together, cracked them fiercely, and said, "Well, suppose I can try my hand at alchemy again. Where's the kitchen?"

"This way, weird kid!" lead Ram, gesturing for me to follow her into the depths of the Basilicom.

"My name's Code by the way," I added as I was led through the dimly lit hallways of colorful rugs to the kitchen. It looked basic for a kitchen, containing some fancy-looking steel cooking equipment with a solemn, large light above the island in the metal. Nevertheless, it was stocked with ingredients I could use to make the two something to drink. Sadly though, my skills were limited, and she was a few items short of a basic soft drink. I knew I'd regret what I was about to do, but I had no choice. It was either get them something to drink, or piss them off. I gathered ingredients and put them in a certain order into a blender.

"Hurry up, we're thirsty!" said an impatient Ram.

Rom added in a fake panting, saying quietly, "Thirsty..."

"It's almost done, be patient," I said in response. The blender finished and I poured the two cups of my best energy drink, colored a vibrant green. They took a few sips and their eyes gleamed with joy.

"This is really good! What is it? It tastes great!" said Ram, already feeling an artificial energy flowing in her body.

"It's called Creature Energy, some of the best tasting energy drink available," I replied, sticking the jar and top of the blender in the sink to rinse it out with soap and water. It was a good thing I was used to washing dishes.

Rom licked her lips and said, "Tangy."

I chuckled aloud, still washing the dishes, and said, "Heh, that's what I said when I had my first energy drink."

"Make us something to eat too, okay Code?" demanded Ram impatiently.

My eyes widened and I replied harshly, "Dafuq? I just made you something to drink! I don't even know how to make food, I just buy my food from the convenience store!"

Rom, speaking in a more polite fashion, whispered, "We're hungry...please?"

"We'll tell Mina that you were mean to us if you don't!" Ram said, wearing a devilish grin as she finished the last of her drink.

"Oh, you little brat," I gritted my teeth and rolled my eyes, "Whatever, I guess I can give it a shot."

"Yay! Come on Rom, let's go back to our room while Code makes us food!" Ram fled the room in an instant, not even waiting for her sister's reaction.

"Coming." said Rom, darting out of the room with her.

I sighed to myself, turning on my music to play through my headphones, asking myself quietly, "The hell did I get myself wrapped up in again?"

Browsing through the ingredients I could combine into something somewhat edible, I found some instant ramen that I could probably use to make something. I plopped those in a clear, plastic container and stuck them in the nearby microwave before continuing to look for things to use. I found a platter I could use to transport whatever I make. Hidden deep inside the depths of the baren cabinets, I found a few bags of potato chips. In that same cabinet, there were a few fruits wrapped up in a bag. I chopped up some apples, peeled some oranges, and retrieved the warm ramen from the microwave. Some strange force compelled me to get fancy with this meal for the twins. I assorted the potato chips, orange slices, and apple slices in a neat border around the two bowls of instant ramen. Finishing up my work, I scooped up the platter and headed out of the kitchen. Looking up and down the warm halls, I wondered where exactly the twins' rooms were.

"...wish I may, wish I might, be someone else tonight. Sometimes I wish I was never born at all..." I sung to myself quietly while walking down the halls. I came across a room that had lights coming from the small crack at the bottom of the doorframe. I assumed that it was the twins' bedroom and knocked on their door, also turning off my music.

"Here's your food," I handed Ram the plate of general junk food and she quickly ran off with it, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Okay then. You're welcome, brat." I angrily whispered to myself, making my way back to the sofa I was sleeping on earlier. It was so divinely warm in here that if I were to pass out now, my status would register as KO'd. Grindrix rested again on my chest, my headphones were around my neck, and I was out in seconds flat.

/o_.+._o\

Ram and Rom left their platter in the sink and left for their room when they heard an obnoxious noise coming from the discussion chamber.

"Come on Rom, maybe it's a ghost!" said the excited Ram. Both girls were still fueled by energy drink, their footsteps quick and nearly silent. Their caretaker slept on the couch peacefully, well, save for his loud snoring.

Rom speaking in her usual whisper, asked "Is he...dead?"

"Maybe he's a zombie!" said Ram with a smirk across her face, "Let's go graverobbing!"

"I don't...think that's such a good idea...but let's do it anyways..." said Rom, smiling with her sister. The two used the utmost precision and teamwork snatching Grindrix from atop its human perch. The blade was warm to the touch, same for the handle.

"Unngh...this thing's heavy!" complained Ram. She could barely lift the thing without Rom's help. They took their time in picking a good hiding spot to stash away the axe for their caretaker to struggle in finding. They did the same with his headphones, his necklace, and even his jacket that they somehow peeled off of him. Now he looked like some slacker nerd that happened to pass out in the Basilicom rather than the stoic warrior he is when fully equipped.

"This is gonna be so funny when he wakes up!" said Ram, her voice no longer a whisper, but an excited one that could've woken Code should they have still been in the discussion chamber. They returned to their room, Ram playing the new Kingdom Diamonds game on her handheld console and Rom listening to the radio she had playing through their Lowee brand console. Around an hour and a half later, they heard loud noises coming from far away. It sounded like Nepgear and the others had returned, but as the footsteps grew closer, the steps turned into one set. There wasn't any knock or anything on the door, just it swinging open with a loud thud.

/o_.+._o\

Nepgear and Valve walked through the marketplace in search of the rest of their group and the occasional bargain. The marketplace was frigid cold, even with their three layers of heavy clothing they wore. In the marketplace, there were alot of outdoor market stalls, not like a mall or anything, but more like an actual marketplace. A lot of the places just sold basic foodstuffs, drinks, and occasionally there'd be some stalls selling adventuring gear, a lot of it for noobs and starters.

"Valve, can I ask you something?" said Nepgear, her normally quiet voice louder than usual to keep above the chitter-chatter of the localers shopping and talking.

"Sure, what is it?" replied Valve.

"What's it like to be a zombie hunter?" asked Nepgear, the question piquing her curiosity since she first met Valve.

Valve sighed and thought about it for a moment. The explanation would be a little hard for anyone that hasn't experiences zombie slaying to understand. "It's a very high-paced experience, hard to get into without having a mental breakdown either. I was surprised I didn't go through any problems when I first started," started Valve, choosing her words carefully, "Once you get past the problem of killing, you start to earn a rush anytime you start to kill. The problem though, is when you end up like me and earn a certain special ability that makes you a paranoid wreck."

"What special ability is it?" asked Nepgear.

"Pre-Game Panic. It makes you jittery for the fight basically."

"So is that why Compa's remedies never work on you?" asked Nepgear.

Valve sighed and said, "Pretty much."

"It sounds fun but like a lot of work too. I don't think I'd be able to take killing another human being." Nepgear said, her eyes still scouting for the rest of their group.

"Eh? You've never killed another human before?" asked Valve, giving a surprised expression.

"G-goodness no!"

"Huh, I thought just about everyone has had to kill at least one human in their lives. Guess that was another lie Uni fed me," said Valve, more to herself than to Nepgear.

"If you don't mine me asking, how long have you known Uni?" asked Nepgear.

After a quick scoff, Valve replied, "She pretty much raised me. Both my parents were lost in a shootout when an angry gamer nerd went nuts."

"Goodness, I'm sorry..." said Nepgear, secretely wishing she hadn't asked.

"It's fine, Uni did a great job raising me, other than that she had this terrible tendancy to overglorify herself," replied Valve, both of the girls giggling, "Oh, now that I think about it, have you checked your phone lately? I wonder what the others are doing..."

Nepgear complied and pulled out her phone, or rather, her personified handheld that she also used as a cell phone. There were three missed calls and quite a few angry texts from IF.

"Nepgear, you really need to quit putting your phone on silent!"

"Gear, if you don't answer your phone and fast, I'm never sharing phone games with you again!"

"Come on Gear, it's been two hours and you still haven't picked up your phone, where the hell are you?!"

Nepgears eyes widened and she moped for a brief moment, and said, "Goodness...I really am making a habit out of turning my phone on silent..."

Valve snickered, then said to herself, "Airhead..."

Nepgear quickly texted IF letting them know where they were. IF, with the others in two, quickly caught up with Nepgear, despite her slip-shod directions.

"You really need to keep your phone off silent! I was getting worried!" complained IF, holding two bags of supplied in each hand.

"Now, Iffy, I'm sure Ge-Ge didn't mean to leave her phone on silent," said Compa.

"And since you made me worried, you get the honors of carrying the bags back to the Basilicom." IF said, handing the bags to Nepgear.

"Goodness, what all did you buy?" asked Nepgear.

"I needed more supplies for the Basilicom. IF also needed some things for your adventures too." said Mina, helping yet another citizen briefly. She'd been the center of attention ever since she stepped out of the Basilicom. Even IF started to grow a little jealous at all the attention she'd get.

"I wonder how Code's faring with the young ones." piped Overdrive, adjusting the holster for his crossbow.

IF and Mina giggled together and said, "I'm sure he's having a lot of fun with the two..."

/o_.+._o\

With steam almost rising from head, my anger flung the door to the twins' room. "You two! Your asses are mine!" I shouted to them.

Ram and Rom grinned ear to ear, looked at each other, and said, "Escape Plan Z! Go!"

Ram distracted me by running close to my legs, close enough for me to attempt to grab onto her, while Rom dashed behind me. She was gone in a flash and Ram was right behind her after dodging my second attempt to catch her.

"I'm gonna kill you two if I ever get ahold of you!" I shouted, running down the winding hallways, barely keeping up. The twins' small stature meant they had to move around less, which meant their speed is increased.

"Code's funny when he's mad!" cheered the duo as they ran away from me. After losing them in a lower level of the Basilicom, I had to give up the chase for the moment.

Heading upstairs again after losing my way a couple times, I said to myself in distress, "Okay, gotta get myself recollected. First thing's first, I need to find my jacket. Then I need to...oh, Maker's breath I want to kill those two for hiding my shit!"

I had to think like the two, something I wish I had a memory-eating slug that could take the dreadful thought process out of my head later. As far as my jacket went, I had a hunch that they'd disguise it amongst other clothes. My first thought was to check the basics and look at the little hangers at the entrance to the Basilicom. I still had no idea where the two delinquents went to, but I couldn't care less about that at the moment. My feet rushed as fast as they'd carry me. There wasn't any sign of my Axe Hero jacket on the jacket hangers. My next thought was to check the laundry room.

"I hope they didn't stick it somewhere that I'd have to injure myself to get to..." I said in between gasps of air. I never would've thought there'd be enough room for me to run so openly through here, but there was. I always saw the Basilicoms as a more closed in place, but there's actually a lot of running room. I thought to myself post-humorously, "Maybe that's so that the troublesome duo have more room to run and escape imminent danger?"

I checked the dryer, the washer, and even sifted through the detergent cabinets. There was a basket of what looked like their clothes, but I didn't see any sign of my black jacket looking around the basket. Then a thought struck me, a hideous one at that.

"Oh you gotta be kidding me...if they did..." I mused quietly to myself, running to the twin's room. As I pushed open the cracked door, I saw no signs of the two girls, but I did see a hint of my black jacket poking out of the closed closet door in the back of the room. I gulped, took a very perceptive look around me and went into sneak mode, crouching as I walked. I neared the closet without any problems, but my dangerous mission was far from over. I opened the closet and saw my jacket mixed in with a large selection of girl's clothes. I plucked my jacket out of the group, but when I did, I looked over my shoulder to see a flash of light.

An exclamation mark appeared above my head as one of the girls took a picture of me in a very compromising situation. "You little sonuvabitch, I'm gonna kill you when this is over with!" I shouted to her, putting my favorite jacket back on. It smelt of girl's perfume, but I didn't care, I missed the warmth of my jacket. Next, I had to find my necklace.

"Where the hell would I look for that? I doubt they'd hide it in the same room," I thought to myself as I peered in the occasional room following the long hallway. At the end of the hall was the kitchen, a dead end. I thought I saw Ram take off down my way when she took that damned picture of me. I walked into the kitchen to see Ram stuffing my necklace in the oven. I grabbed the nearest blunt object I could get to, which was a frying pan, and chased her all around the kitchen, trying to get a good hit on her. I missed frequently, and to make things worse, I think I broke a couple things trying to smack the stupid out of her. She fled the kitchen, and I was about to chase after her when I remembered that my necklace was getting a little hot sitting in the oven. I quickly opened the door and plucked the controller-shaped necklace out of it. Little was I thinking, the thing was made of metal. What does metal do when it gets hot? It stays hot.

"Damn, son of a bitch bastard...ooh, that hurts like hell!" I shouted all the way to Celestia, holding my burning and stinging hands in pain and agony. I'd dropped my necklace, but it seemed like it was still intact. I picked it up again by its string, cautious about holding it. The water that had dishes soaking in it was cold from sitting out. I dunked the hot necklace slowly inside it, creating a large cloud of steam. I was very careful not to go too fast or I'd warp the metal. Once it was cooled off, I dried it off with a paper towel. I couldn't hardly feel my hands as I cleaned off my necklace, but I did what I could. Near the fridge, there was a medical kit that I could use. I looked inside it and found a few vials of healing potion.

I poured the potion on my hands and let out a calm sigh of relief, smiling all the while. I stowed away the empty vial and put my necklace back on. A little more relaxed, I walked out of the kitchen, saying to myself, "Halfway done. Now to find Grindrix..."

After searching the Basilicom for a few minutes, I had to deduce that it was likely somewhere outside. The first thing I did was back up from the snow-white doors, perusing the front of the Basilicom when I found what I was looking for. I gasped and said, "Those little brats..."

Grindrix was mounted at the very tip-top of the Basilicom like it was a decoration. I had to take my time and think about which way I could take to get up there safely or at least, which route I could take that would cause me the least amount of damage. There were a few windowsills that I could grasp onto and pull myself up. Past that, there were a few handholds made from the sleek details on the exterior I could use. My mind processed and calculated my paths and picked the windowsill idea. It couldn't end too badly, at least, not that I could think of. The wind outside was chilly though and it was a good thing I had found my jacket. Luckily there wasn't any sun out to blind me.

I took a deep breath to calm myself before jumping up onto the metallic ledge above me. I could only hope my acrobatic skills would hold out for the moment. I grunted and groaned as I worked my way up to the second floor. My feet pushed off from the ground and my hands caught hold of the second floor windowsill. But as I tried to pull myself up, I saw an aggravating sight. Ram walked by the window, playing on her handheld console and wearing my headphones.

"You little twerp, those are my headphones!" I shouted. In my state or disarray, I lost grip of the windowsill and was down to one hand holding me up. "Crap, crap, this isn't good!" I spontaneously shouted, trying to swing my body from side to side to get momentum. The winter winds scattering bits of snow and dust didn't help me in keeping my grip. With the cold piercing my skin, I started losing my grasp on the ledge fast. It was a long way down, and I really didn't want to break any bones and have to limp back to the kitchen to get medicine.

Quietly encouraging myself, I relaxed as much as I could, telling myself, "I can do this...I can do this..."

I paced myself, then made another mighty leap to a border lining the roof. On the roof was a circular dome of paned glass that let light into the discussion chamber. I pulled myself up once more and took a few seconds to rest. Once I was ready to start moving again, I climbed up the delecate glass with care.

A cracking noise filled my heart with dread and made my eyes widen to the size of a monkey ball. I dared not move until I deemed it safe to. Little by little, I edged myself up to the tip-top of the Basilicom. I plucked my prize from the top of the dome, held my axe high to the sky with the blade facing up, and said, "I have the power!"

After that heroic display of courage, I quickly depressed myself as I wondered how the hell I was going to get down from here.

"What I wouldn't give for a Flying Squirrel Suit right about now..." I said to myself, sliding down the dome with ease. I didn't crack a single window that time and felt pretty accomplished. Next up, I had to climb back down the wall, using the same window from before. Getting down was trickier than getting up and my agility level honestly sucked. I kept a firm grip on the second floor windowsill, but my phone went off and scared me enough to make me lose my grip and fall.

"Damn you physics!" I shouted as I plummeted down. The snow, normally soft and fluffy, did nothing to comfort my fall. My back was screaming in pain, and as I stood back up, it popped like popcorn.

"Eeeh...yeah, I'm gonna need the solvent again..." I sighed, bent over like I had a hunchback and using Grindrix as a walking stick. I gently moved back inside and into the discussion chamber after around a half an hour of hindered movement. My energy was drained, my strength was faded, and my back was outright killing me. Behind me came a group of shoppers returning from the marketplace.

IF shouted into the discussion chamber, "We're back"

I looked over my shoulder and my back popped again. I hit the floor and almost accidentally landed on Grindrix's blade.

"Code!" shouted a worried Nepgear, she helped me up and over to the sofa where I could lay down.

Holding me up, Nepgear asked, "What happened? Was there a monster attack?"

"Oh, they're monsters alright! Two little cretans named Ram and Rom stole my stuff while I was sleeping and hid it around the Basilicom! I broke my back trying to get Grindrix off the roof!" I exclaimed in fury and anger. If I wasn't in so much pain, I'd personally hunt the two and wring their necks myself.

"Here, let me help Cody!" said Compa, rushing to my aid. The situation was the one time where she was free to do whatever she pleased to get rid of my pain. She rubbed a light blue solvent on my back, and though it hissed like she was pouring acid on me, it fixed me right up.

"Now, sit back and rest while I massage your back," commanded Compa. Her hands were cold but I didn't care, she wasn't half bad at back massages.

With the pain fading fast and a level of comfort being established, I said quietly, "Thanks, Compa...I appreciate it."

"You're welcome! It's my job to be a nurse!" said a happy Compa.

"Ram, Rom! Get in here!" Mina shouted into the depths of the Basilicom. Ram and Rom came back into the room, Ram still wearing my headphones. Mina pointed to my direction and said to the two, "You two had better apologize to Code for the trouble you caused him!"

"But Mina! Look," Ram showed her the photo she took from before, "He was looking through our stuff! We had to get him back for it!"

"Yeah...pervert..." said Rom quietly.

"I only went into your room because you stuffed my jacket in your closet!" I corrected Ram.

Quickly losing her patience, Mina said, "Of all the things girls, this is one of the worst I've seen in a while. Go apologize."

"But Mina!"

A seriously dark aura eminated from Mina as she growled, "Apologize. Now!"

"Ooh, kitty got claws," remarked Overdrive. Normally I'd be laughing at such a comment, but I didn't think you'd want to make that "kitty" any more pissed off than she already was.

"I'm sorry..." the two said to me.

Compa finished massaging my back to give me room. I sat up, pain aside, and looked at the two with aggravated eyes of fury. I said to them with disappointment in my voice, "You two have made this day hell for me. I feed you, get you something to drink, and then you do this? Not cool, not cool at all."

"We're sorry, we wont do it again," said Rom.

I sighed, shook my head, and said, "I'll talk with you two later. First, I need to rest for a while."

"You heard him. You two, go to your rooms," commanded Mina. Ram and Rom obeyed without a word said.

Mina bowed to me and said, "I'm so terribly sorry for the trouble they caused."

I waved a hand of dismissal and said, "It's fine, I've been through worse. Just another day for me, so don't linger on it okay? No harm done."

"Are you going to be okay?" asked Nepgear.

"Don't worry, it's just a few misplaced bones, no biggie," I gave her a gentle smile and made room for her to sit down. She insisted that I lay back down on the couch, but I didn't mind. She sat down next to me, IF taking her bags from her to the depths of the Basilicom.

"So did you learn anything about where we can find another Spark?" I asked bluntly, Overdrive, Compa, and Valve sitting around me in chairs from the discussion tables.

"Not really..." sighed Nepgear.

Valve, being the resourceful one was, said, "I think I might know someone that could help, but I'm gonna warm up a little before I go anywhere."

"Even I'm not used to this kind of weather," said Overdrive, holstering his crossbow. He looked over to Mina and asked, "Is Lowee normally this frigid?"

"Now that you mention it...it is colder than normal..." Mina said, mainly to herself. It seemed that even the natives to the frigid enviroment knew when it was too cold. A loud pair of screams penetrated our conversation. It sounded like the twins, their voices matched the screams for sure. I tried to get up but Compa and Mina stopped me from moving around too much.

"The healing solvent's still taking effect, don't move around too much or it wont work," said Compa, her hands on my shoulder. Mina helped keep me bound to my couch. I wasn't about to complain. Though I questioned Compa's abilities frequently, I had an odd sort of faith in her that she knew her stuff to an extent.

Overdrive and Valve apparently left the Basilicom earlier, something about scouting the town for any word on the Spark we needed. That and they were going to look for Guild missions if they could. We were getting a little low on money again.

/o_.+._o\

"What's wrong?" asked Nepgear, barging into the twin's room. A few packs of insects made up of ice skittered around their room. They looked like Hercules Beetles, but made entirely of thick and shiny ice. Ram and Rom were curled up in the corner of their rooms, not even having the thought of trying to berid the creatures. They were made of ice though, so with the twins' magic being focused around just that, there really wasn't much they could do other than stomp on them, that being something they were too afraid to do.

IF, who had just entered the room, raised an eyebrow and said, "The hell?" IF, thinking fast, pounding them into the floor. They crushed easily, but it would take more than just one person to clean the area out. Nepgear reluctantly helped, stepping on what bugs she could.

"Don't make eye contact, don't make eye contact..." Nepgear whispered to herself, refusing to look directly at the insects. She just blindly stepped where she thought they were, missing fifty percent of the time. With enough work between IF and Nepgear, they cleaned out the infestation. Nepgear comforted Ram and Rom while IF looked around for where the things could've spawned from.

Trying to pry what information she could from the two, IF asked, "Did you see where they came from?"

"I think...they came from our vent..." whispered Rom, pointing to the yellow ventilation system that poured cold air into the room.

IF looked inside the ventilation shaft and found a thick layer of pure ice covering it with a neatly labeled hologram hovering over it claiming it to be a spawn point. "And there lies the problem," IF sighed, punching out the ice and letting it dive into the depths of the shaft. Hot air flowed freely back into the room.

"What was it?" asked Nepgear.

"A bunch of ice turned into a spawn point for these little bugs. It seems the cold's really playing a part here in Lowee."

"I wonder what's causing it..." said Rom, her head cocked to the side.

"Whatever's doing it, it better stop! I don't like bugs in my room!" complained Ram, her more impatient attitude speaking in a blunt tone.

"You'll be fine," said IF, motioning for Nepgear to follow as she left the room. The twins remained in their room.

/o_.+._o\

Valve and Overdrive both walked around the winding winter streets of Lowee, checking backways for shops tucked away in the nether regions of Lowee. They had been wandering around for a few minutes just trying to make sense of the oddly named streets and normally unlabelled passages littered around. It didn't help that the ice covered the walkways and signs, making traveling a problem.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" asked Overdrive.

Valve hesitated for a second, looking down at the hastily written directions she'd gotten from her informant. Looking back up to the half-frozen street sign, Valve earned a confused expression, saying quietly, "That's debatable."

Sighing a frozen cloud of breath, Overdrive asked, "So we're lost?"

"Kinda-sorta."

"We're lost."

"Yeah, we're pretty lost." Valve admitted.

Overdrive, taking matters into his own hands, snatched the directions from Valve, looking over them briefly. He said objectively, "We'll backtrack as much as we can 'til we're at a place we can recognize."

Knowing no better, Valve shrugged in her brown winter coat and went along with Overdrive.

"Can't believe you got us lost," said Overdrive, checking his environment much more frequently than before.

"Sorry! I don't know Lowee very well, I mainly go around Lastation and Leanbox."

Overdrive paused for a second before asking solemnly, "Leanbox, huh. How is Leanbox?"

Keeping a close eye on the environment still, Valve said with a cold breath, "It's fallen on some harsh times. New ruler ain't doing too hot."

"I see."

"You from there?"

"Yeah. Grew up in the suburbs of Leanbox. Left after the place went under new management. I...was really hoping Chika had come back."

Valve, unable to grasp the atmosphere beyond the cold winter winds and snow, said, "Dude, people are still waiting for Lady Green Heart to return."

"Damn shame what happened to them. I remember looking up to Vert when I was younger."

It was harder for Valve to recall what the other CPUs were like before the Sisters took over the nations. Still looking around the environment with her assault rifle in hand, Valve firmly stated, "We all saw a lot in the CPUs. Kei would often tell me stories about Lady Black Heart. It was-"

A familiar face stopped Valve midsentence, making her rush over to a scraggly looking teenager. The kid wore a coat decorated in checkerboard patterns, had baggy black jeans, and had an odd wristband with a white and black checkerboard pattern. His blonde hair was spiked up in some spots and flat on others.

"Surprise seeing you here," said the kid.

"Squenix, long time since I've seen you."

The kid sighed and said, "Thought I told you to quit calling me that."

Overdrive, cutting in, asked, "Friend of yours?"

"Square and I go back. I was there when he earned his weird last name," Valve teased, wearing a smirk aimed towards the kid.

"Now she won't stop calling me Squenix," said Square, "So what bring you all the way up to Lowee?"

Valve, retrieving the damp instructions from Overdrive, asked, "Do you know where we can find Mana Boulevard?"

Square quickly read through the instructions, looking back up for just a moment to check his surroundings. He smiled and asked, "You're trying to find Gust's shop, aren't you?"

"That obvious?" asked Overdrive.

"People rarely find her store. It's a bit tricky to find, but you'll pretty much just follow Namco Drive all the way to the market. From there, take a left past the blacksmith's shop and follow that about two blocks. It'll be the first shop on your right."

Valve took back the instructions, realizing where she went wrong. With an embarrassed smile, Valve said, "Thanks dude, I owe you one."

"No problem. Hope you find it," Square said, walking away while waving his hand goodbye.

"Thanks, catch ya later!" Valve shouted to the distant Square, walking the opposite direction with Overdrive right next to her.

Overdrive, with a faux tone of surprise, said, "Wow, so the great Valve owes favors instead of just cashing them in?"

"Hey, I'm only human. I gotta get some help too," said Valve, not too eager to defend her habits of earning favors.

"So are you with the CPU of Planeptune because of a favor too?" asked Overdrive.

Valve's voice dimmed some and her face contorted into something more serious. She said firmly, "No, I came on my own volition. Kei nor Uni asked me to help them. I offered."

It wasn't apparent that she was kidding, leaving Overdrive to change his tone as well to something more formal, saying with a clearer, louder voice, "Quite noble."

"Trust me, I'm not that shallow. Not yet anyways," Valve said with a bittersweet smile.

/o_.+._o\

"Everything okay?" I asked, looking back over to the present-once-more duo of IF and Nepgear.

"Yeah, just a little bug problem," said IF, not even bothering to mention the ice problem.

Throwing my voice toward IF, I asked, "So, what's our next plan?"

"I think this whole overly-cold thing is the closest thing we have to a lead. Let's try to see what we can find out about this," directed IF, making a call on her phone and putting it up to her ear.

"Try to get plenty of sleep, okay? Please, brother?" Nepgear said with an innocent voice.

I gave her a smile and said, "I will, I promise sister. Take care, I don't know if you'll still be here when I wake up."

Done talking on the phone, IF approached Nepgear and I, saying, "We're good to go," IF then looked at Compa and said, "Stay here with Code. We'll be back shortly enough."

Nepgear nodded her head and left with IF, letting in a brief burst of cold air that was quickly extinguished by the warmth of the Basilicom.

Compa stayed behind, still sitting next to me to assure that I wasn't making any hasty movements. She said with her usual airy smile, "I'm sure they'll be fine. You still doing alright Cody?"

"I'm doing a lot better. And thanks again for helping," I said softly, giving her a soft pat on the head.

"Aww, you're welcome!" Compa cheered, grabbing onto me in an impulsive hug.

My bones popped with a loud sound, followed by me trying to plead for mercy. The only thing I could make was a 'meep' sound thanks to the harsh pain.

Compa instinctively reeled back, apologizing until I could regain my breath.

"You're fine," I said with a makeshift smile, "I'm gonna go ahead and get a little more rest. Once I'm asleep, go ahead and help Mina or the twins keep the place clean. I'll call if I need something."

"Alright, I'll stay here for now then," Compa said, still watching over me contently.

I laid mine down on the sofa, relaxing my body and letting it fit comfortably into the couch. It wasn't long before my head grew foggier and foggier and eventually just shut off completely once I fell asleep.

/o_.+._o\

"Come on, Nepgear, Valve and Overdrive said that they think they have a lead on where to start looking for the Spark," said IF, caught up with Overdrive and Valve before Nepgear knew what to do.

Nepgear quickly caught up and followed IF obediently.

"What's on your mind, Gear?" asked IF.

"Nothing."

"Gear, I can tell when your lying, talk to me. What's up?" repeated IF.

"I just really hope we can find the Spark soon," Nepgear attempted to lie, and would it not be for IF's patience with Nepgear, she would've made a comment about it. But alas, IF kept quiet and let Nepgear think to herself for a while.

"So who's this informant you've been talking about?" IF asked Valve, taking her attention away from Nepgear to let her think for a while to herself.

"You'll know her when you see her," replied Overdrive simplistically.

Valve elaborated by saying, "Her shop's coming up soon. She's a real businesswoman, so we might need to shell out a few Credits, but I think she knows her stuff."

"Knows her stuff? I tried to ask her about the cold and she tried to sell me cold medicine! For 1600 Credits too!" complained Overdrive with an aggravated hand gesture.

The group entered a quaint little shop of alchemical ingredients and colorful potions lining the shelves nearby. Nobody was at the counter, but there was a bell to call for someone. Valve went up and hit the bell, chiming into the depths of the store to let someone know there were customers.

"Gust is coming! One moment!" a childish female voice chimed from the back of the store.

Nepgear's deep thought was disrupted as soon as she heard the name of one of her beloved friends. She cheered loudly, "Gust!"

"Nepgear? It's nice to see you here, Gust has missed seeing you and the others," approached Gust, wearing her usual white bunny-like hat atop her head and the blue dress with the kangaroo pouch in the front.

"You two know each other?" asked Overdrive quietly.

"Yeah, we know here alright. She's cost us more money than any of our other party members." replied IF, a hint of disdain in her voice, but mixed with a gentle smirk made for an innocent remark.

"Does she have some sort of a spending problem?" asked Overdrive.

IF laughed aloud and said, "She wasn't addicted to shopping or anything, she just charged us for about everything that come out of her!"

"Gust needs to keep business running! It couldn't be helped!" replied Gust as she stocked her display cases attached to the counter with strange vials and containers, "Anyways, what is it you need of Gust?"

Maintaining her polite tone, Nepgear said, "Valve and Overdrive here say you might know something about this harsh cold."

"Gust might have something to say about the cold but-"

"It'll cost you," IF finished Gust's sentence right with her, knowing exactly what she was going to say.

"Why'd I see this coming a mile away?" Valve asked aloud with a bit of sarcasm. The group stepped aside as another customer approached the cashier and payed for a anti-freeze potion. As the man left back outside, the briefly open door letting in a breeze of frigid air.

"Alright, we'll see your offer and raise you 5,000 credits," complied IF, hoping she actually had that much money with her at that moment.

"Gust says 10,000 credits for information," replied Gust quickly.

IF sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Can we go just a little bit lower, please Gust? I'm sorry if that's too much to ask," pleaded Nepgear.

"Gust isn't quite sure if that's-"

"You know, Gust, with your expertise in alchemy, I'm sure you can afford to drop your price just a little lower. Please? We're friends after all!" IF tried reasoning again.

Gust smiled and said, "Well, Gust is pretty good at what she does. What the heck, Gust'll go down to 5,000."

IF and Nepgear quickly pooled their money together and payed for the information.

"Gust has heard from sources she won't reveal that the problem is in the sewers. Bad glacial water mixed with faint enchantments from something underground and has been making weird ice creatures. Gust's tip says to go to the sewers and see what's making the ice come to life," explained Gust.

IF let out an aggravated growl and said, "Sewers, of course, it had to be sewers. Didn't we just get done crawling through sewers back in Ruination?"

Gust snickered to herself with her mouth shut and IF exchanged her an aggravated look. That of course didn't stop Gust from trying to laugh.

"Well, sounds like we've got some dungeon raiding to do," Overdrive said quietly, retrieving his crossbow from it's holster.

"Thanks Gust, it was nice seeing you again!" Nepgear waved her goodbye as she followed her friends back outside.

"Gust enjoyed seeing you too! Try not to die! I need your business!" Gust waved goodbye and proceeded to tend to another approaching customer.

IF looked closely around the streets for any sort of manhole cover. It was difficult trying to dodge cars that went at hyperspeed and it didn't help that every damned hole was frozen shut.

"Ack!" shouted IF as her fingers slipped off the icy manhole attached to a desolate and out-of-the-way street that few people treaded. There was much ice on the secluded road. They'd been at work all day trying to get into the sewers and track down whatever was making winter a frozen hell in Lowee.

"That's it, move out of the way," piped up Overdrive, readying his crossbow. IF and the others stepped away from the manhole. Overdrive's crossbow began to hum with a fiery energy, making a red aura around it.

"Dude, what are you doing?" asked Valve.

Overdrive fired a bolt into the manhole and it quickly exploded, sending iron shrapnel and rocks everywhere. The girls shielded their faces with their arms as the hail of debris settled.

"There, let's move," commanded Overdrive.

"I suppose that works, but doesn't that draw attention to us?" asked IF.

"As much as it does, I could care less, we're wasting daylight just screwing around like this," replied the icier-than-normal Overdrive. He was the first to start climbing down the manhole and into the icy sewers. The walls were laden with sheets of pure ice and there wasn't a centimeter of water in the sewers that wasn't frozen solid. The small ice beetles that IF got out of Ram and Rom's room were occasionally crawling around, but they posed no threat to them nor did they even remotely notice the traveling group. All but Overdrive chattered their teeth in the sub-zero enviroment.

"It's really, really cold down here," commented Valve, her shaking arms barely able to hold her rifle straight. Her eyes would move with her stiff neck, examining the ice around her that reflected her image in a distorted way.

"Relax yourself, all of you. When you get too cold, your muscles will tense up and make it harder to move. Keep calm and relaxed whenever possible," educated Overdrive, hardly responding to the frigid cold.

"I'll t-t-try to k-keep calm, b-but it's so cold down he-here..." said Nepgear.

In between chattering her teeth, IF stated, "This isn't good, our stats are dropped because of this stupid cold."

"As expected. Let's get this done and over with, this isn't one of the best enviroments to fight in," commanded Overdrive, arming his crossbow and going from a gentle walk to jog down the frozen corridors. The others kept up with him only when their frost-bitten muscles would allow. There were many of the ice beetles, but as the group ventured on, they started getting larger and were packed into heavier swarms. Finally, after a few passages, the real fight began.

"G-goodness! What a-are those th-th-things?" shouted Nepgear, pointing a shakey finger at their newest foe. It was a strange centipede creture of pure ice. It had two scythe-like mandibles that it used to burrow under the ground and strike from anywhere. The girls compacted into at close group and tried to feel the vibrations in the floor to see where it was going to surface. It was directly under them and ready to surface, the floor shaking violently.

Nepgear tried to slash the worm with her sword, but it was too fast and its icy armor wasn't even phased by physical attacks. Knowing the art of fire, IF tuned into the powers of fire itself and casted a spell called Demonic Inferno. The worm, stunned briefly as it surfaced and bashed it's head against the top of the sewer, was roasted and toasted. It melted into nothing but a puddle of water.

"Well that sure was over the top," commented Valve, feeling the heat still radiating around her and slowly melting the ice around her too.

Nepgear giggled and said, "It's one of her specialties."

"Damn straight. Now let's move!" said IF enthusiastically. She took the next few icy corridors by storm. Any worms that popped up were quickly dispatched by IF's fire magic. They walked for quite a while until they neared a drop-off where the sewer water was frozen as a steep waterfall. There was, what looked like, a nest down at the bottom, likely spawning points for the ice worms that now frequented the halls.

"Well, how are we going to get down there?" asked Valve, looking for any kind of stepping stone of handhold for her to climb down with.

"Like this," stated IF as she leapt off the edge. Once she was halfway down, she jammed her claw into the side of the frozen waterfall to slow her steep fall.

"Hate to break it to ya Mrs. Cocky, but some of us don't have any swords to slow our fall," said Overdrive, looking at his blade-less, black crossbow.

"Just jump you two, we'll catch you!" IF called to them, her arms opened up wide.

Overdrive looked over to Valve and asked, "Why do I not trust them?"

"Because my paranoia is wearing off on you?" said Valve, laughing before making a jump for it. She landing safely in IF's barely-holding arms. Overdrive landed in Nepgear's arms safely, although Nepgear was just a little bruised thanks to that. They each took their time in clearing out the nest, ripping them off the walls, shooting them down, only for IF to burn them up in one giant bonfire. They took a breather by the burning pile of nests, warming themselves up.

"I can feel my HP rising already!" commented Nepgear, holding her hands near the fire.

Overdrive, wiping the runny snot from his nose, said, "It's good to have, but a bonfire usually means a boss up ahead."

Raising an eyebrow, Valve asked, "Where'd you hear that one?"

"Headshot used to say it a lot. Sad part was that he was right a good majority of the time."

"That's a shocker. He doesn't seem the 'wise' type at all."

Headshot gave a humble shrug and said, "It's weird about him. Kid's got the dumbest ideas, but in all reality, he's about as seasoned as I am. Same thing with Overkill. He sounds like a dumbass brat, but he's a lot smarter than he makes himself out to be."

"Always more than meets the eye," said Nepgear.

IF kept quiet, her mind focused on a nearby rumbling noise that nobody else seemed to hear or feel.

"What's on your mind?" asked Overdrive bluntly.

"It's not on my mind, it's on the floor," IF replied, putting her hands on the cold stone ground. Vibrations made their way through the ground, barely there to feel, but there nonetheless. A dripping noise started next, coming from around them, most notably, by the waterfall. The rumbling grew louder and the dripping grew more freqent as time passed and IF couldn't shake the bad vibes from herself.

A loud cracking noise brought everyone's attention to the waterfall. Before they could even fully stand up, the group witnessed the waterfall crack tremendously and out of those cracks, the little ice beetles started to pour out. The group stepped back little by little. Then, the waterfall completely broke apart, spraying ice shards everywhere and revealing a massive horde of ice beetles that totally blotted out the floor.

"OMG ZERG RUSH! Everybody run!" shouted Valve, booking it out of there faster than anyone else, slipping multiple times before getting a grip and dashing away. They zoomed down the halls and deeper into the sewer, trying to escape the incoming horde. The corridors twisted and wound into a deep maze of ice and stone, and the whole group wondered where the end of this path would be and what would be there. They'd traversed the entire city's sewer system now to no avail as to the source of the frigid cold. IF helped claw past the several worms up ahead and kept them out of the way long enough to get devoured by the hungry horde of beetles. The group neared a dead end, an icy one at that.

"Oh hell, now what?!" shouted IF angrily. Her question was quickly answered as she stepped onto a sheet of ice that gave way as soon as she had her weight on it. The group all stumbled in with her down a chute of pure ice. They tumbled and rolled down the tunnel until reaching the bottom, plopping down in the thin, dusty layer of snow. The room was a large battlefield-like room and at one end, rested a massive golem of ice crystals. Once the girls were up, they had to move and fast, rolling out of the way of the golem's smashing fist. It hit the ground with an earth-shattering roar, cracking the ice that coated the floor, making a linear path of ice crystals forward that shattered and vanished after a second of existance.

"IF, attack it!" shouted Overdrive, aiming an explosive arrow at the golem while IF used her magic to attack from a distance. The golem swung around and roared with it's icy mouth of stone. Overdrive launched his arrow perfectly in the creatures mouth, detonating it and blowing it's whole lower jaw off.

"Headshot. That's gonna be good for the rank," Overdrive cheered in delight while reloading his crossbow.

"Rank won't matter much if we're dead, keep firing!" encouraged Valve, deploying a case of incidiary rounds for her to use. Nobody could use them, but she would gladly make use of the extra ammo. Her gun wouldn't do much otherwise.

The three piled on fire and explosions, but could only slowly whittle away the massive golem's health. Overdrive reloaded his crossbow again, but before he could make any progress, the golem slammed it's fist down and made a stream of ice that encased Overdrive in a crystal crypt of ice. Nepgear saw this as a chance to finally help, her sword not able to do much against a stone creature like the golem. She hacked away at the ice cage, even going as far as to use Mirage Dance to try and break him free.

"Ack!" Valve shouted as she was smacked by the golem and flung into the wall. Her bones broke easily from the mighty hit and her weapon was tossed to the other side of the field.

IF was tempting to grab it, but having no good assault rifle perks would make the gun next to useless for her. She tried Demonic Inferno for the fifth time now, but only pissed off the golem even more. She was cornered and looking right into the eyes of her destroyer.

Nepgear sped up her icebreaking and finally freed the top half of Overdrive, his rigid body moving slightly, shivering all the while.

"That's cold! That's really cold!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. Even in a shouting voice, he wasn't too loud.

"Can you shoot a bolt at that spike-thing?" Nepgear hastily asked, pointing her finger at a needle-like stallagmite that loomed over top of the golem.

Overdrive worked to get his crossbow loaded, firing an explosive bolt at the needle. It cracked it and made the golem look up just to witness it's own demise. The needle dropped down onto the stone construct, impaling it and killing it. IF helped thaw out Overdrive while Nepgear helped keep Valve steady. She could hardly walk and couldn't even hold onto her rifle. Nepgear stored her gun in the group inventory via her N-Gear.

"Beware the king of thunder and ice, Earthbreaker! He will devour this land! And everyone in it!" The golem said in a harsh frigid voice as it died. He dropped a sword out from his chest as he died. Nepgear recognized this as something she'd be able to wield. It was one handed, a little cold, but very lightweight and had a long row of icy spikes on the blade. Nepgear quickly equipped it, seeing it's stats and special freezing effect to be much better than the Laser Sword she had.

IF, still a little disturbed, said, "Okay then, well that was just a little freaky."

"Uhm, IF?"

"Gear? What is it?"

"Can we use the button? I don't think we can get out from here," said Nepgear, shakily holding an Eject Button in her hand.

"Might as well, I don't feel like looking for an exit and Valve's injured. Hit it, Gear," said IF. Those words were music to Nepgear's ears. She quickly used the button and the four of them vanished back to the surface, where the winds had died down and the area was finally tolerable to walk around in.

/o_.+._o\

I woke up after a long nap to find myself alone in the Basilicom discussion chamber. The couch was indented from where I slept. I stood up and stretched, grabbing Grindrix when I was finished. Woken up enough, I remembered something important I needed to do. I debated on whether to bring Grindrix or not, but then I second guessed myself. "Grindrix follows me wherever I go, it'd be against my own nature not to bring her," I told myself as I stretched one last time. I looked up to the glass dome above, the snow that once laid atop it gone now. There was much more warmth circulating through the chamber, meaning that Nepgear must've fixed the problem of the overly-cold temperatures. I had faith she would.

As I walked to the twins' room, I dropped my headphones down and holstered my axe.

"Should I really be doing this? What if I just make more problems cause I can't stand children?" I asked myself, hesitantly hovering my fist near the top of the door. "No, they may be kids, but not only are they Lowee's CPUs, they're friends of Nepgear. I need to man up and quit being a bitch about this. They're kids, it would be unnatural for them to not act like them."

I smiled to myself and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" chimed Ram. I opened the door and walked inside, shutting the door behind me. Rom's originally happy face switched quickly to a discouraged frown, and Ram rolled her eyes.

"We already said we're sorry, what else do you want?" asked Ram bluntly.

"Just to talk. I have a couple other things to say," I replied, sitting on the colorful carpet, not far from Ram and Rom. The two looked like they were reading a book together, something I would think would be hard to do.

"Go...ahead then," said Rom.

"I'm sorry for getting as mad as I did earlier. I should've understood a little more that you're still young and still have the energy to mess with others and try to have fun," I said with a sincere voice. Both Ram and Rom looked at me with puzzled expressions.

"I'm surprised you aren't still mad, whenever big sister Blanc gets mad, she stays that way for a while, so we're used to it," said Ram.

"Well, that's one thing, you're used to your big sister. I'm just some random stranger to you two, and to get infuriated, pass death threats out like cookies, and completely disrespect the most important duo of Lowee, well," I chuckled to myself, "I really made an ass of myself today. Sorry. It's just that I prize the things I have."

Rom and Ram turned around quickly and whispered things to each other that I couldn't hear. While they discussed to themselves, I took a look around their strangely colored room. There was a large TV with a Lowee console hooked up to it. It looked like Ram left her handheld on her bed and Rom had a collection of books on her bed. It really did feel like a kids room.

"Okay, we've decided!" Ram started, grabbing my attention, "We'll forgive you on one condition."

"Name it." I quickly shot back.

Ram giggled alongside Rom and said, "You have to tell us what the big deal is about your stuff, it all looks like junk to us."

I started laughing softly, then laughed harder and harder the longer I laughed. Finally, after getting my kicks for the moment, I said, "I honestly figure your kiddish minds would ask for something insanely hard for me to get or do."

"Is it...too late for us to change conditions?" asked Rom quietly.

I held up a hand to her and said, "We're on the same side now, so I'll accept your request. But are you sure you want to hear the history behind these things? It's not exactly for the light of heart."

"Yeah, tell us!"

"Tell...us."

The twins' curiosity was piqued and that's all there was to it. I honestly expected no less from kids, their minds craved for the interesting.

"Well, I'll start off with this," I held my axe in lap, the reflection from the light gleaming towards me, a faint image of my parents residing within, "I've had this thing for years, it was one of the last things my parents gave me. But that isn't the only dead thing it carries with it, the souls of my dead parents reside within this very blade. It's sacred to me, it's the only thing I have now to remember my folks."

"There's ghosts in that thing?" asked Ram, interrupting my thought process.

"Yeah, but they aren't malevolent or anything," I replied.

Rom neared her sister and asked, "What's malevolent mean?"

"It means evil and bad, dummy!" replied Ram.

"Anyways," I grouped their attention back to me, "This axe is a part of me, just as my necklace is. This was my father's necklace, the same one he wore when I was forced to kill him before he killed me. As for my headphones and jacket, they're just more pieces of who I am. I don't like having them stolen, but if you really need them, I don't mind loaning them out to friends."

"So we're friends now huh? What makes you think we wanna be friends with you?" asked Ram, a childish smirk marking a teasing voice.

"Hmph, well, maybe because you're nice people?" I returned Ram's teasing voice with one of my own. The duo whispered back and forth between themselves again in a hushed voice.

"Rom and I decided that you can be our friend," smiled Ram.

"I'm glad," I smiled back. Rom yawned loudly, followed by Ram.

"Did I bore you two to sleepyness or something?" I asked with a slight chuckle.

"Yeah, you did, weird kid! I'm super sleepy now..."

"Really...tired..."

The twins looked like they were ready to pass right out. I smiled, watching them try to keep their eyes open. The energy drinks I gave them must've be wearing off, meaning only one thing: Crash time. I motioned for them to head to their beds and they had no complaints, entering their beds and settling in.

"You two go on to sleep, Mina or I will come wake you up when supper's done. Good night, kids, sleep well," I said to them as I left their room, shutting off the lights for them.

"Thanks, Code," the two said together as I left. I couldn't help but smile. Somehow, I just made friends with two children. Normally, I despised children, but somehow, those two put me at ease, and kinda made me want to be around them. Walking out of their room, I could smell the vivid scent of home cooking from the kitchen. I decided to walk over and see how supper was looking.

"Ah, you're awake. I was wondering if that was you I heard," said Mina, cooking up a storm in the kitchen.

"Yeah, that was me. Where's Compa?" I asked, looking around for the ditzy one that I would never trust to be by herself for too long.

"She ran out to go get some new cooking utensils," Mina quickly raided a cabinet for a platter, "and to get me a new microwave."

With an embarrassed expression, I apologized, "Yeah, sorry 'bout the mess I accidentally made chasing the two hyper ones down."

Mina smiled, looked over her shoulder, and said, "It's fine, I understand completely. They can be quite a handful sometimes."

"But they seem like nice kids to have around though," I managed to say peacefully. I never thought I'd be the one to say something like that, but I did. "Anyways, here, let me help."

"Oh, you don't have to do that, I'm used to cooking!" replied Mina quickly. I really just wanted an excuse to be a little closer to the yummy-smelling food, but I wasn't going to admit that aloud.

"It's fine, plus it'll be easier with two people working. I kinda owe you anyways, what with the destruction of your kitchen," I shied away, a tad bit guilty. Mina submitted and let me work with her, cooking the food for all of our hungry group to eat. Speaking of hungry groups, I could hear the door to the Basilicom open and close all the way from the kitchen.

"Hi Cody, are you feeling better now?" asked Compa, coming in and taking a quick look over my busy body.

I gave a quick smile and said, "I am, thank you. I suppose you aren't just a crazy scientist after all."

"Hehe, I'm not much of a scientist, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't crazy," giggled Compa.

My laughter turned into a gaping mouth of concern as my mind processed what she just said. I shook my head and reminded myself about who exactly I signed myself up with.

Without even saying a word, Compa quickly joined us with the cooking while Overdrive put together the new microwave. I didn't really do much of the cooking, but I helped a lot with the kitchenwork, cleaning and fetching pots and pans and such. It was always nice to make myself useful for once. Occasionally Nepgear and IF would wander in to see how supper was going. I questioned IF as to what happened and she filled me in. I expected no less than for them to clear up the cold problems, but the news of the Earthbreaker concerned me. I had heard rumors about the King of Thunder and Ice before from the Colliseum back in Planeptune. It was said that a single swipe of his claw can turn flesh into permanant ice. Not even the volcanoes of Castlescape could melt whatever his claws touched.

My mind rushed around while I labored for the chefs, but one thing it lingered on was the geography around the area. I knew a little about Lowee from its fighters that wandered over to the Colliseum. I'd heard stories about frozen tundras where your feet matter just as much as your head, and also of the Phantom Valley, where the horrors of your mind come to life in terrifying ways.

"Cody, what's wrong? You look pale, do you need another shot?" asked Compa, shaking me back to reality again.

"I'm fine, don't worry too much," I said, attempting to feign a calm expression.

Compa looked at me with a worried face that let me know that my lie was easily seen through. "You're spacing out like Nepgear does, what's wrong?"

As I put up a few ingredients, I sighed and said, "I just worry about the path ahead is all. Speaking of Nepgear, is she still having problems with her visions?"

Compa looked discouraged to say the least. She pushed past it and said, "I wish Ge-Ge wouldn't worry about them so much..."

"Oh my, is there something wrong with Mrs. Nepgear?" asked Mina.

I was hesitant to explain, but I told her, "She's been seeing...visions as of late. It's of her sister and the former CPUs. She still blames herself after all these years."

"And it's not something we can fix too easily. None of my remedies work!" complained Compa.

"Hmph," I started, "I'm sure you've got something in that airhead of yours."

Compa giggled, likely looking right over my airhead comment, "Thanks Cody. I think maybe we should do more fun stuff with her. Maybe that'll take her mind off of it?"

"Perhaps a little more fun is in order. But first, we have business to tend to. I believe that our next Spark, the Spark of Joy, is located at the Frozen Tundra Valley, I believe in Browser Castle. We might have to fight to get to it though, which could be a problem," I noted aloud, still helping cook the almost ready meal.

"Okay, then after that, we can head back to Lowee maybe and have some fun!" replied Compa.

"Or, perhaps, you can postpone your adventure for just a while, maybe a day or two and have some fun in Lowee," suggested Mina, helping prepare a platter of food. My guess was that everyone just ate in the discussion chamber, but perhaps there's a dining room somewhere around here that I missed.

"I suppose...maybe a day or two wouldn't hurt," I pondered to myself, wondering how long we can wait to get into action. It wouldn't hurt I guess to hold off the adventuring for a day or two, we've been worked pretty hard.

"Hey man, is the food almost done?" asked a male voice from the kitchen doorway.

I looked over my shoulder to see Overdrive, one of the last people I'd expect to see wandering into the kitchen. "Yeah, we're almost done here, you wanna help carry the food into the discussion chamber?" I asked politely.

He silently obeyed, carrying away a stack of plates. I stayed behind in the warm kitchen to put up pots and pans that weren't used and washed out the ones that were dirty. They were laden with foodstuffs and needed a sponge treatment.

"Cody! Time to eat!" Compa shouted, peeking into the kitchen.

"I'll be there in a moment," I replied, hastily finishing up the last of the dishes. I just brushed the suds off on my cargo pants as I ran down the halls. The light in the twins' bedroom was still off, so I guessed that they were still napping.

I gently creaked open the door, letting out a gust of warm confined air. Knocking softly on the wall to wake them up, I said quietly, "Hey, you two, it's time to get up."

I heard soft moans from the girls and took that as a sign they got up. My hand waddled around the inky darkness of the room to try and find the light switch. My fingers grasped it and flicked the lights on, blinding the girls.

"Hey! You big meanie, at least wait til we're all the way awake before you do that!" complained Ram, shielding her eyes from the light like her sister did.

"Light...bright..." said Rom, gently getting out of bed and walking with a groggy gait to the door. I stepped out of the way and let the two out. As Ram exited the room, she gave me a stiff punch in my arm. For a kid, she had some strength to her!

"Ow, and you call me a meanie?" I winced and rubbed my arm as I shut the room's light off and closed the door.

Nose in the air, Ram said, "It's only fair!"

I kept quiet as we walked to the discussion chamber, where a grand dinner was laid out like some divine feast. My nose couldn't keep up with all the succulent smells wafting around the room. The light that once came from the glass dome above was replaced by magical orbs of light that glistened around the room, levitating through the use of some unknown magic. It was entrancing to watch the orbs, but while my mind stared at those, my body made it's own movements, sitting down next to the spacey Nepgear and feeding itself. I had just noticed Valve finally come in, quickly picking a spot to eat. I wondered where she'd been for the past few hours.

I gave Nepgear a quick shake and said, "Hey, wakey wakey sis, you need to eat."

She shook her head quickly and gave me a reassuring smile. "I'm sorry, I'm a little tired is all," she said.

"Maybe some food will wake you up a little, Ge-Ge," encouraged Compa, taking more time to gather up the plates of those who were finished eating than to eat herself.

"Are you sure this is safe to eat?" asked Valve, poking her food with a fork. Most of us ate these strangely colored mushrooms, red or green with white spots. I wondered myself just how safe it was to be eating strange mushrooms, inside the depths of my mind, this little voice kept telling me that this might be hazardous to my health.

"Don't worry, I'm sure these are safe. They're Lowee's finest mushrooms, grown locally too," assured Mina, watching the twins to make sure they themselves were eating their mushrooms.

"You know," started IF, "I've always wondered. Are mushrooms a vegetable or a fruit?"

Everyone grew silent and stopped eating for a moment.

Overdrive and I looked at each other and shrugged. Mina was still thinking to herself, the twins' shrugged as well and Nepgear was so spaced out that she probably didn't even hear the question.

"That's a good question Iffy! The G.D.A considers them vegetables, but really, they aren't even plants! Isn't that odd?" Compa cheered, returning to her seat to continue eating. Her food was already trying to grow cold, but she still ate.

"Huh...I never would've-" I cut myself off as I looked down at my plate to see most of my food gone. "The hell?" I asked inside my head. A tender warm hand took another portion of my mushrooms and quickly revealed the culprit to be Nepgear! I shook her from her haze and said, "Uh sis, you're kinda eating my food."

"Eh? Oh, goodness! I'm so sorry! I wasn't even paying attention," she hastily replied, stopping herself from eating another portion of my mushrooms. Ram and Rom giggled a little, but IF and Compa looked like they were worried.

I gave her a soft smile and said, "It's okay, I don't mind. But once your done eating, how about we see about getting you a warm bath prepared? I think you need a little relaxation."

"I agree with Cody, go ahead and finish eating and we can take a hot bath together!" Compa said with an unrivaled cheer in her voice.

Mina, also finishing eating, piped up and asked, "Do you need help finding the bath soaps?"

Compa knew where to find what she needed, telling Mina not to worry and escorted the spacey Nepgear to the bathroom. Once she was gone, and I was absolutely sure she was out of range, I gathered the attention of the group, saying, "Alright, everyone, we've got a new mission!"

The others looked at me in confusion, but I had yet to explain this said mission.

"Now, some of you may know this, some maybe not, but Nepgear's been going through quite an adventure as of late, and it's not helping her already bad state of mind at all," I began, the magic lights around us focusing on me more than anywhere else, "Tomorrow, I've planned to make the best and most fun day as of late for the poor girl. I need complete cooperation from you all to make this work. Nepgear really needs this, and as her somewhat-brother, I worry about her. So who's in?"

Mina, Ram, and Rom all cheerfully agreed. Overdrive gave me a smirk and said he was in. IF, however, looked at me like I'd gone mad or something.

"IF, will you help us?" I asked politely, something I knew wouldn't help my chances. The orbs from around me shifted over to IF who gave a sour look to me.

"Code, you know that we have a mission to accomplish. Is this really the time to be taking a break?" asked IF.

"As much importance this mission is, our party's health is even more important. You've been around Nepgear even longer than I have," I said sincerely, "you should be the one to realize that something's wrong with the girl. I know I'm not the only one that wants to make sure she's okay, and this seems to me to be the best way to tend to her."

An awkward silence filled the room. It unnerved me, made me feel like I had said something stupid.

"Code, you act as much like her brother as I act like her teacher," IF sighed, closed her eyes, and held her hand on her head, "I suppose we should take a day off, for Nepgear's sake." The others around me began to clap, one by one, filling the room with a happy cheer.

"Let's make tomorrow her best day ever!"

"Let's do our best!" The twins cheered.

"A clan is only as strong as it's leader. This is for the best," said Overdrive.

"But, what all are we going to do exactly?" asked IF. The clapping grew still and silent and the lights around the room scattered to light up the room completely.

"Here's my game plan," I started, my eyes aiming for Mina, "Mina, how cold is it supposed to be tomorrow?"

She hesitated, her eyes drawn to the ceiling as she thought to herself. She said, "Shouldn't be too cold out now, I think it'll be just cold enough to need a jacket but not much more."

"Overdrive," I redirected my gaze to him, "we'll wake up early tomorrow and take Nepgear mushroom hunting. She seemed to like the mushrooms pretty well judging by how many of mine she ate."

"Sounds logical, sounds fun too. Good way to hang out with the leader. I'm in," He agreed on his end and the morning was taken care of.

"Alright, now for later in the day, around the afternoon," I started, processing thoughts in my head faster than I could say them. "Ram, Rom, you of all people here should know this place pretty well. What's the absolute best arcade around here?" I asked, looking in the general direction of the two.

The two looked at each other and whispered in each other's ears. Ram said firmly, "The best one is no doubt the Uber Funspot!"

I looked at Mina, and as if she could read my mind, she said, "I took them there once. It really is the biggest and best in Lowee."

"That's settled then. For the end of the day, I just thought that we could have a nice meal together," I suggested.

"Mina and I can do that, no problem!" said the cheery Compa.

"That's settled then, thank you for helping you two," I thanked them properly, same for the others.

Mina and Compa giggled and said, "It's no problem."

Our plans were set for the next day, meaning we were free to do whatever we wanted to for the rest of the night. I asked Mina if there was any sort of living room or den that I could hang out in while I thought of what else to add to tomorrow's plans. She led me down a set of stairs and to a living room of sorts, thought to me, it looked like a gamer's den. It was complete with a TV, Lowee gaming console, and even some comfy beanbag chairs. I plopped down on the brightly colored beanbag chair and scrolled throught the long list of games to play while I thought about what to do tomorrow other than what was planned.

"You really think you're going to game without me?" asked a male voice behind me.

"I dunno, would I be too awfully guilty if I did?" I asked in response, picking a classic game to play.

"Hmph. Well pass me a controller and let's get started," Overdrive said, sitting in a chair right next to mine.

I held my hand up to him and said, "You're a gamer right? You know what we're missing."

He gave me a raised brow that was barely seeable with just the dim TV lighting the room. I ventured back upstairs, sneaking quietly into the kitchen.

I thought to myself, "If my memory serves right, there should be a bunch of new ingredients stocking the shelves."

My fingers gripped the cabinet doors and swung it open, revealing just what I'd hoped to see.

"Bingo," I commented to myself, grabbing a handful of ingredients. The blender just got cleaned but I didn't care about having to clean it again. I took a few seconds to recall the recipe I needed. I knew of a slight modification I could make to my favorite recipe to make it twice as good.

Opening the freezer, I took out a tray of ice cubes. The tray was cold to the touch, but my already cold hands were hardly affected. However, the ice cubes refused to drop out of their plastic pouches they had been frozen into. A few crunches and a pounding on the tray pried them out, right into the blender. I proceeded to make my favorite Creature Energy blend, but with an icy extra. In the next room over, I could hear the gaggle of girls chatting it up over something. I wasn't about to interrupt them, whatever it was they were doing.

"Let's see, purify, chop...there it is, liquify," I mumbled to myself as I turned on the blender. I had to wait an extra five minutes to make sure the ice got mixed in right, but when it was finished, I opened the lid to a lovely surprise.

"Hot damn, that's a bright neon," I whispered. I blinked my eyes a few times, uttering, "better keep that away from Valve, she'll think it's radioactive."

I poured two glasses full of the energetic slushie and dumped the blender container in the sink, quickly washing it out before heading back down with Overdrive. I handed him a glass of the slushie and he got a good whiff of it.

"Damn dude, that's just a little stronger than normal," he said, taking another whiff of it. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear the stuff was glowing in the dark. I began to think that mixing in ice wasn't the best idea.

"Yuppers. Here's to gaming my friend," I raised my glass to the side towards Overdrive.

"Power to the players!"

/o_.+._o\

The alarm from my phone went off, blaring a loud ringtone that jolted me awake, along with Overdrive, who slept in the beanbag chair next to me. My head was a little fuzzy, but I got up and checked the clock on my cell phone. It was a quarter 'til seven, meaning Overdrive and I would have to kick in gear fast.

Eyes aimed at Overdrive, I told him firmly, "Overdrive, you get the gear together and regroup in the discussion chamber, I'll go get the other Gear."

I left the den fast, leaving the collection of necessary items to him. I was going to see which bedroom Nepgear passed out in. One by one I checked the rooms down the hallways, finding two empty beds, the bedroom where IF and Compa slept, and finally Nepgear's room. My feet silent, I strolled over to her bed and put my hand on her shoulder. Her snoring was loud, loud enough to wake the dead, or piss them off at least. I put my hand on my shoulder and could feel the warmth she radiated. Looking closer, she'd been sweating in her sleep apparently.

"Time to wake up, sister," I said softly. Her eyes slowly opened to see my face lit up with the dim light coming from the hallway lights.

"Good," Nepgear let out a long yawn, "morning, Code. Why did you wake me up so early?" she asked as she looked at the digital clock hanging off the wall nearby.

"Well, we have to if we're going to go mushroom hunting. Go ahead and get dressed and we'll head out," I said as I flashed a warm smile to her. I left her warm room to let her get dressed. Pressing my ear to the now closed door, I could hear the movement of bed springs followed by footsteps, meaning she didn't just fall back asleep.

"Good, now to check on Overdrive," I whispered to myself, moving to the discussion chamber where I saw Overdrive and a few other lively characters, one of which was just leaving.

Valve, waving goodbye to a strange, female warrior clad in yellow and red armor, said, "Thanks again Retro. See you...whenever you get back again!"

While Overdrive worked on adjusting his big camo backpack, I asked Mina out of curiosity, "Who was that?"

"A resident hero who goes by the name Retro. She showed up here on a whim many years ago, and did great things for Lowee before mysteriously departing."

And right on cue, Valve chimed in, "Good thing she came back finally, she still owed me for helping her with that little eradication mission I did for her some-odd years ago."

"Dare I ask what you had her do?" piped up Overdrive, still struggling with his backpack.

Growing a smirk, Valve said, "I made sure she had the forest as clean as she could of enemies. We wouldn't want any nasty monsters ruining Nepgear's playdate, would we?"

"You picked the best of the best," said Mina, "I know her handiwork is legendary. She rarely falters."

"Sounds like someone you don't want to see the bad side of," remarked Overdrive.

Valve quickly shook her head, eyes wide open as she remarked loudly and firmly, "No, no, no! I've seen her when she's pissed. Not someone you wanna make enemies with. I watched her little arm cannon break freakin' reality at one point."

My eyes widened a little just hearing that. Somewhere, deep inside of me, was the calming feeling that we likely wouldn't be crossing paths with her anytime soon. Valve went deeper into the Basilicom while Mina helped Overdrive get ready. I stood idly by, waiting for Nepgear to show up. The magical orbs from before were gone from the discussion chamber, a natural light coming from the glass dome above us. I couldn't hear the whipping winds through the walls, so that was a plus.

"We should be good, there isn't much we need other than bags and jackets. I have a backpack with a cooler bag in it, so we can store what we find in there," said Overdrive, hoisting his heavy backpack over his shoulder, his crossbow not far from it.

Nepgear come back out dressed in a heavier winter version of her school-girl style clothes.

"Ready, sis?" I asked.

"Yeah, let's go," she said with a smile, somehow able to maintain that friendly, cheery personality, even when she'd been woken up a lot earlier than she'd expected.

While waving goodbye, Mina said softly, "I hope you all have a fun time. See you soon!"

We opened the way outside and found it to be rather peaceful out today. The sun was shining a little through the dull grey clouds above and the air wasn't too cold out.

"Alright, there should be a way out up here..." Overdrive said to himself, looking at a path out to the Tundra Valley that wasn't guarded too heavily. There were just a few guards in towers built into the walls. The only guard that was actually awake opened the gate for us and let us into the snowy forest of Tundra Valley.

Nepgear was still getting used to the cold and the early awakening time, but other than that, she seemed to enjoy getting some fresh, if not frigid, air.

"Wide awake now, I take it?" I threw my voice at Nepgear, my eyes searching the forests for mushrooms.

"Yeah, I feel fine. Thank you for taking me out to go mushroom hunting, by the way," she politely thanked.

"Please, it's more for you than any of us. We want you to have fun," said Overdrive, already spotting some green mushrooms to stow away in his backpack. He kneeled down into the snow and unzipped his backpack. Stowing the 'shrooms away, he stood up and grumbled after he realized his jeans were wet now. The trees around us, dead and bare, swished in the gentle breeze.

The more we searched, the longer our silences lasted. I tried to keep the conversations going, but with the frigid cold picking up some, the gears in my head were grinding to a halt.

"Hey, Overdrive, how long were we up last night? I can't remember, that whole night's a blur," I asked him bluntly, for I knew that at that point, if I tried talking in complex sentences, I'd just end up confusing myself.

Overdrive scoffed as he ducked under a low-hanging tree branch, saying briefly, "You really think I remember? I think you spiked that blend with something cause my memory of that night is outright gone."

"Spike it? With what?"

"I don't know! Alchohol maybe?"

Nepgear, for the first time in a while, giggled, watching us bicker like high school students. Both of our attentions immediately redirected to Nepgear, her bright face sticking out from the snowy ground around us.

I smiled and motioned for her to keep following us. The further we got down the snow-ridden path, the more frequent the mushrooms became. All of us had found at least a handful of the unique colored mushrooms. The only thing lighting the path were some dim blue orbs of light, kinda like the ones from the Basilicom but blue.

"I found some!" chimed Nepgear, diverging from the path to grab some mushrooms from a distant tree.

While she was away, I looked to Overdrive and said, "I think this is going pretty well. She seems to be enjoying herself."

"Yeah, she doesn't seem as spacey today," replied Overdrive.

"Eep!" a distant cry caught our attention. Nepgear was being encircled by something. I could see movement around her but whatever it was that was dancing around her wasn't easy to see.

"Hold on, sis, I'm coming!" I readied my axe and rushed forward, but stopped once I was there, raising a brow all while Overdrive was still firing bolts from a distant position.

"What in the hell is all this?" I asked aloud, looking at the now-visible rabbit-like creatures holding strange objects like plungers and spatulas.

"Don't ask what it is moron, just kill!" shouted the distant Overdrive in response. I didn't know whether to cut the things down to size or not, considering that all they had in their hands were assorted items that didn't look even the least bit dangerous. They started trying to smack around Nepgear with their items and that was when I snapped. I brought my cold axe way up over me and swung down on one of the beasts. The axe stuck in his head, no blood spilled though, oddly enough.

The rabbit stopped for a minute, as did the others, and poked the axe sticking out of his head. His eyes widened and it looked like he gave a brief shiver.

"DAAAAAAGH!" the little rabbit screamed and ran off at high speed.

"Hey, give me back my axe you little bastard!" I shouted as I chased him.

The other rabbits continued trying to pound on poor Nepgear, but she ran and stepped aside when they attacked.

"You gotta fight, Miss Nepgear, fight!" Overdrive shouted as he pinned one of the rabbits to the wall by the ear using his accurate aim and deadly crossbow. Nepgear looked behind her for a brief second while running and drew her sword.

"I'll do my best!" she cheered, standing her ground and slashing away at the rabbits. They still tried hitting her with strange objects, looking like some mutant tribe. As she hit them with her beam sword, the most she could do was singe their hair and bruise them a little bit. While she fended for herself, I still chased the rabbit that had my axe through the forest. I made a sharp corner following him but when I looked around, he was nowhere to be seen. I looked over my shoulder to see the little guy running in circles around a tree. Apparently he got Grindrix's outstretched handle stuck on the tree and didn't realize he was running in circles.

I whispered to myself, "Heh, this is gonna be fun..." I grew a devious smile as I snatched back my axe by the handle, carrying the annoying little rabbit with it. I knew that would happen and had a enjoyable little trick to show him. I held out the axe handle straight in front of me and let go, the axe going into Shieldspin and bashing the little creature into the ground repeatedly. I shouted to the little creature, "Having fun yet?"

After a few seconds, he came loose and was flung high up into the air. I stopped Grindrix and slung her back over my shoulder.

Nepgear had knocked down the tribe and made them practically unconcious save for a few hyperactive twitches.

"Well, that was interesting. You okay, Nepgear?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. That was...kinda fun," she smiled and stowed away her sword.

"I'm glad you thought so, perhaps there are more of these things around here." piped in Overdrive. He brushed off the snow from his crossbow and holstered it. I checked my phone's clock and it read that it was going on twelve already.

"Well, I think we have enough mushrooms for today," I said, putting my phone away.

"Yeah, more than enough to fry up for food," said Overdrive. Nepgear stayed silent, and I feared that she was spacing out again, looking at another one of those damned visions, but she was just playing with her phone and smiling to herself. It warmed my heart to see her happy finally. And outside in the cold, my heart needed all the warming it could get, along with the rest of my body.

The wind was picking up and had it not been for Overdrive's sensitivity level being off the charts, he would have never felt that something was shaking around in his backpack.

"Stop," he quickly commanded. There was a cleared off section of forest path that he could set his backpack on without it getting wet from the snow. The backpack was visibly moving, hopping occasionally.

"Goodness, I hope one of those little rabbits didn't get in there," said Nepgear, keeping her distance just in case. Overdrive took a grip of the zipper on the backpack and quickly opened it. A little humanoid mushroom sprung out from inside and stood atop the backpack, his weight not even indenting the backpack's flexible leather.

The mushroom quickly greeted in a weird, nasally voice, "Greetings, fleshlings!"

"Sweet! Talkin' mushroom!" I exclaimed, looking closely at the little talking mushroom dude. His cap was green with white spots, likely mistaken as just a normal mushroom when we picked him up.

Raising his little wooden staff in the air, the mushroom man boasted, "I claim this leathery containment device in the name of the Onealia Upucus!"

"Ha! Yeah, you're funny. Now back in you go," said Overdrive as he shooed the little mushroom back into the backpack and zipped it up.

"Hey, let me out of here you devious human!" a muffled cry came from the backpack.

"He wasn't a very fun-guy was he?" I chuckled at my own pun, seeing that nobody else did.

"Don't ever make that pun again or I'll shoot you in your sleep," said the cold Overdrive, hoisting his backpack over his shoulder.

Nepgear maintained an uneasy smile and said, "I'm sorry Code, but that was a really bad pun."

I fake pouted and said, "Sorry, it was too hard to resist."

"It's okay, Code, Iffy's made worse ones before," smiled Nepgear, still messing around on her phone, or rather, her N-Gear that was basically a phone. If she wasn't careful, she'd lose that phone to the growing winds. Even my sturdy legs were submitting to the growing winds.

I raised a brow and asked, "IF's made puns before?"

"She's tried, but I'm sorry to say, none of them are usually good," said the bitter Nepgear.

"Don't eat me, I surrender!" that muffled voice shouted from the backpack again, a little louder than last time.

"Are you sure it's okay if we just eat him? What if he's the last of his kind?" asked Nepgear, listening closely to the muffled cries coming from Overdrive's backpack.

Overdrive sighed and quickly retrieved the mushroom dude from the backpack.

"Victory is-" the mushroom was cut off as Overdrive violently shook the thing, scattering it's spores all over the snowy ground before Overdrive shoved him back in his 'prison cell'.

"There, now more of him will grow," said Overdrive.

"I suppose that's better. Still, poor little mushroom man. I'll feel bad eating him..." sighed Nepgear.

"Well, imagine if you will, something twice as savage and merciless eating him without a second thought. At least we're putting in the thought of this thing's wellbeing," reasoned Overdrive with a very logical point.

Nepgear silently nodded and continued following us back to the city. The guards stationed at the frozen walls of stone took a look at us and shrugged, declaring us safe to enter. The rigid door opened slowly to let us in, then closed shut behind us.

"Well, did you have fun, Nepgear?" I asked, walking next to her.

"Yes, thank you both for taking me out to go mushroom hunting. It was really fun," she gently replied.

If she enjoyed that, the rest of the day will be great for her. However, I wouldn't be around for the second part of our day of fun. No, Ram and Rom will have control over the next part. I was going to walk around the city and see what information I can scoop up about Earthbreaker, at least, after I help cut up the mushrooms. We entered the Basilicom and were warmly greeted by Mina, the twins, and a warm breeze echoing out to the doorstep before we closed the doors tight.

"Welcome back you three, how did the hunt go?" asked the gentle Mina.

"We did really good! There should be enough to eat from," replied Nepgear.

I added in firmly, "Nepgear did the best though, she found more than either of us."

Overdrive handed Mina the bag and warned her that the mushrooms were "a little mouthy".

Ram crossed her arms and said, "Hmph, I bet we could've found even more!"

"Good job, Miss Nepgear." congratulated Rom.

I could see Nepgear blush a little past her slightly pale face. Nepgear uttered modestly, "Goodness, did I really do that good?"

"Of course. Now, let us take care of the mouthy 'shrooms, Ram and Rom want to hang out with you for a while, so you all go have fun." I directed like I had total control over what happened and what didn't. It felt kinda nice to be the ringleader for a little while, but what really surprised me was Ram and Rom's cooperation. The two had to be really good friends with Nepgear to cooperate so willingly.

Nepgear nodded with a cheery smile and said, "Alright. Bye brother, bye Overdrive, thanks again."

I waved goodbye and helped prepare the mushrooms. Looking at the mouthy little bastard, I kinda felt bad too about ending his life, but alas, twas the circle of life. I sliced him up fast and painlessly with Grindrix. He seemed to be the only one that had raised sentience. I could hear now, the icy winds whipping against the walls of the Basilicom.

"It's getting a little windy out there. I hope Ge-Ge doesn't catch a cold!" said Compa, chopping up mushrooms with me. I worried myself that having her out and about so much could get her sick, but she's a strong girl and I was sure she'd be fine.

Compa, leaving the kitchen for the moment, was greeted by Valve on her way out. Valve, passing by the exiting Compa, approached me from behind, asking softly, "Have fun?"

"Yeah, you should've come with us," I said with a smile, still cutting up the mushrooms.

"I had some business to take care of with my relatives. And speaking of which, I hate to say it, but this is where I'm going to be staying."

I was a little shocked, but I said to her calmly, "Alright, but if you don't mind me asking, how come?"

"My relatives need me here. I promised them I would stay here to help them for a while."

I nodded softly, asking, "Have you told Nepgear and the others about it yet?"

"Nepgear's the only one I haven't told yet."

"I understand," I said calmly.

"And Code?"

"Yes?"

Valve let out a sigh and said, "I know what you're doing is risky, and honestly, I doubt if it's even possible. But I want you to keep looking for the things you need. I want you to put my words to the test. And I hope you come out on top."

It took me a minute for me to understand what she was talking about. Then I remembered the conversation we had when she first noticed my 'collection'. I said calmly with my voice lowered, "Thanks. I really appreciate the support, I really do."

She put her soft hand on my shoulder and said, "I've got faith in you. I've got faith in all of you. I'll be rooting for you."

I gave her a subtle nod and she released her hand, taking a step away before beckoning her once more. I said to her softly, "Hey, think you can do me a favor?"

"Name it."

"Promise me, sometime in the future, you'll come to Planeptune. Come and see us when you can."

"I promise." said Valve, smiling a warmer smile than before.

I chuckled and asked, "And what do I owe you for this promise?"

"Nothing," said Valve firmly, "We're much closer than that Code. You don't owe me anything. Ever."

"I see. I'm glad to hear it."

As Valve finally left, I gave a warm sigh, smiled, and hoped deep inside that she'd come back, just as she'd promised.

/o_.+._o\

Overdrive was ready to enjoy the warm depths of the den and play some games. He wasn't overly fond of the Lowee console, looking at most of the control schemes to be nothing but shovelware, but he wasn't about to complain at a chance to game. Before he could game however, he had to find somewhere to let his crossbow dry.

"Let's see..." he mumbled to himself, looking for an air vent where the warm air flooded the room. He only kept on one distant lamp so not to use up too much electricity. Another one of his pet peeves was using electricity that didn't need to be used. Stumbling around the room, he found an unlit sconce that rested over an air vent. Overdrive took the straps of his crossbow and wrapped them around the sconce. As the weight of the crossbow pulled down the sconce, it also made a rumble vibrate the soft red carpet Overdrive stood on. A small crawlspace hiding behind the TV opened up.

"Aww hell, secret level time," Overdrive smirked to himself. His larger body had a tricky time squeezing into the crawlspace, but it hadn't been the first time he's had to crawl in a small space. Especially after his 'clan' abandoned him in a zombie infested mall and he had to crawl through the ventilation in the shafts. That whole ordeal with the zombies left him scarred for life, making him even more nervous around tights spaces than before. Normally, Overdrive was very claustrophobic, but he had to maintain his self-discipline and persevere.

The crawl was short and he was back on his feet and exploring a dark stone dungeon. His mind wandered around why there was such a place like this in the Basilicom to begin with.

"Too damn dark in here..." said Overdrive, digging around in his toolbelt for his small tinderbox. From what his eyes could see in the foggy darkness, there were a few torches he could light to find his way back. He lit one and took another to help guide his way forward. One by one he lit the torches on his way and occasionally burnt up the troublesome cobweb. The corridor of aged and mossy brick twisted and turned like a maze. He'd been tempted to just turn back and explore it later, but there was a faint glimmer of curiosity that told him to keep going. His judgement was proper, for he found himself in an old storage room full of magical trinkets and tools.

Smiling wickedly, Overdrive said to himself, "Hot damn, looks like I found the treasure room..."

His first point of interest was a mirror gilded with jewels and gold and a strange black mark down the center of it. He stood before it and, in a joking matter, adjusted his navy blue hair, trying out different looks. Laughing at his own screwball endeveaurs, the mirror surprised him by making his reflection disappear. Overdrive's laughter stopped dead. He earned a more serious look on his face and hesitantly laid his hand on the surface of the mirror.

"Dimensional flux. There's a whole 'nother world beyond here," said Overdrive, nearing the mirror even closer. A ghost of white body and yellow eyes popped up and scared him, making him jump back and curse to himself. His patience withheld just enough to keep him from punching the mirror and cracking it to pieces. Moving through the thick and dusty room, he located a camera, older looking but still functional. It had an old style flash bulb, camera lens, and even had the little slot where the picture it took came out of.

Overdrive fumbled around with it and tried to find the flash button on it. Something felt off about it, but he couldn't name what. He turned it to face himself, looking on the front to see if the flash button was there. As he did, it took a snapshot, blinding him and making drop the camera. It still functioned, printing out not a picture, but what looked like a CD. Before Overdrive could figure out what was going on, he accidentally stepped on the CD and crushed it under his combat boots.

"Crap, what did I break," he said to himself in a daze. His vision finally came back, only to see a dark mist coming from the cracked disc. He stepped back little by little as the shadow formed into a silhouette of himself. Now in a fighting position, Overdrive prepared himself for whatever his doppelganger was about to do. Hand-to-hand combat wasn't one of Overdrive's strong suits, but he could manage. Just as he'd thought, the doppelganger thrust his fist forward. Overdrive scooted out of the way, leaning back on a stack of crates. Overdrive planted his hand on the dusty surface of the box and tried to give his legs enough momentum to kick the shadow away. He hit it, not doing much damage but pushing it back. Lucky for Overdrive, the doppelganger didn't have his signature crossbow which would have made fighting hard in such a cramped room. The shadow punched again and again, landing a few blows on Overdrive's warm body. Every time Overdrive landed a blow on his opponant, his hand grew chilled and his mind slowed. It was dangerous to fight the creature. Gathering up all energy he could, he focused his power into his right fist.

"Eagle Paaauuunch!" Overdrive shouted as he punched the shadow to the floor. It evaporated into a black mist and sunk into the ground, disappearing completely.

Overdrive shook his hand and held onto it, gritting his teeth and swearing to himself. He reminded himself to stay away from the camera and to not punch anything for a while. His curiosity ended there, deciding to crawl back into the living room. Moving to his hands and knees, he again comforted himself as he crawled back to safety. His crossbow was nice and dry, leaving him no other reason to keep it hung off the wall sconce. As the weight on the sconce was dropped, it rose back into it's previous state, hiding the secret passage behind the TV.

"Okay, well that was my adventure for the day, best I not screw with anything back there any further," said Overdrive to himself, booting the Lowee console and beginning a long session of gaming that he had hoped would wipe his mind clean of the traumatic little experience.

/o_.+._o\

Ram and Rom were eager to get moving, seeing that Mina had gave them loads of money to spend at the arcade. With Nepgear of course.

Dragged out of the Basilicom by the arms, Nepgear hastily asked, "Where are we going?"

"Where do you think, silly? The arcade!" chimed Ram, winding down streets and staircases with Rom and Nepgear in close tow. The wind tried to blow them off course, but their heightened excitement refused to submit. Nepgear didn't mind following the two, or even running alongside them, even though the streets and sidewalks were still laden with ice that reflected the dim sunlight shining past grey clouds.

"Wh-why're we going to the arcade?" Nepgear asked in between shortened breaths.

"Don't ask why, just come on!" Ram shot back, still leading her through the winding city. Their stop was just a street or two away and Ram grew even more excited the closer she got.

"Relax, Miss Nepgear...we want to have fun with you..." said Rom quietly. Nepgear had no reason to refuse a day of play at the arcade. As they passed an outdoor cafe, Nepgear could've sworn she saw a vision of Blanc sitting at a table, reading a book. Ram and Rom refused to let her submit to her vision, instead, pulling harder at her arms and pulling her vision away from her as well. They made a sharp corner and collided with a taller female, Ram and Rom falling flat on their rears.

"Owie! Watch where you're going!" shouted Ram

Slowly getting back up, Rom said quietly, "That...hurt..."

"Oh, Valve, it's nice to see you again." greeted Nepgear, helping the twins back up.

"Hey, Nepgear, how're you doin'?" asked Valve, dressed in a thick brown overcoat and her usual grey combat boots.

Nepgear, moving a little closer to hear her better, said, "I've had a hectic morning, but I'm good, thank you for asking. Did you have fun with your relatives?"

"I'll be honest, I really did. It was nice seeing my uncles and cousins," replied Valve.

"Hey it's that one girl! What'd Mina call her, Rom?" Ram looked over to her sister in hopes of a proper word.

"I think it was...paranoid," replied the cold voice of Rom.

"Yeah! It's the paranoid girl!" said Ram in a childish voice.

Valve laughed aloud, then mumbled to herself, "You two are so lucky you're cute."

"If you don't mind me asking, what're you doing out and about, Valve?" asked Nepgear.

"Well, I'm running a few errands for my relatives. To be honest, and I know you probably wont like hearing this, but now's the time for me to stay." said Valve with a hint of sorrow and remorse.

Nepgear, with a surprised expression, asked, "Oh, really? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, my folks are getting a little worse for wear and nobody wants to help them. I'm sure you'll do fine though, I have faith in you, CPU." Valve offered a smirk and a quick pat on Nepgear's shoulder as she passed them by. The wind caught her hair and made it flutter in the breeze, making her look like some awesome character leaving behind her friends for a divine and noble purpose. Nepgear, thinking that exact thing, smiled and waved goodbye to Valve.

"Well, that sucks. Anyways, come on Nepgear, let's go!" Ram again grabbed onto Nepgear's arms and drove her forward with the two towards the nearby arcade. The turned their last corner and were greeted by the bright white neon sign that read, "Uber Funspot". "We're here, we're here! Come on, lets go in!" cheered the ecstatic Ram.

"Yay!" cheered Rom as well, her usual quiet demeanor drowned out by the sounds of excitement and arcade games.

"Wow! This looks really neat!" said Nepgear, admiring the vast arcade games and occasional amusement rides. Their minds were set, but they still had some things to do before they could enjoy themselves to the fullest. They had to wait in line to get a card they could charge with money. Of course, with all three of the girls being CPUs, they were able to cut straight to the front of the line. Nepgear was a little unsure of just cutting in front of everyone, but Ram and Rom assured her that it was alright...

/o_.+._o\

My chores were done and I was to head out and search the area of Lowee for answers and clues to not only the Earthbreaker, but as to if he even had the Spark of Joy or not. I also wondered if perhaps he had the next item I needed for my collection. Overdrive and IF mentioned to me about some source I could go to that might know more about Earthbreaker. I planned to ask the informant about the other stuff, but I doubted if she'd know anything. I couldn't even remember exact name of it, something about a nerve and nature.

The walk through the city was hectic, I had to move out of the way of so many mindless handheld gamers. People here are even worse than the ones in Planeptune. I didn't even bother shouting at some of them to watch where they were going, they wouldn't have even payed attention. The speedy cars whizzing up and down the streets hummed with power and radiated an ice-melting heat that I could feel even when they weren't near me.

Nearing another corner, I almost bumped into another mindless gamer. Had I took the time to shout at them, I'd have completely walked past my destination. It was a quant little alchemy shop, dozens of odd liquids and vials littering the shelves and display cases. A young girl with a white hat and blue dress was checking the cash register when she noticed me walk in.

"Welcome! Can Gust help you find anything?" the girl greeted.

"Actually, I could use a little help finding something. I don't suppose you know where I can find a certain foe named Earthbreaker? I heard you were quite the information person." I tried to compliment her when I could to increase my chances of getting some useful information. She didn't seem like the kind of person to part easily with anything like that.

"Gust might know a thing or two, for a price." said the girl with an earnest expression on her face.

I sighed and said, "I hope a couple thousand credits is worth some information."

She eyed my coins and nodded, stowing the money in her register.

"Earthbreaker resides in the ruins of the Browser Castle, where all the dead and abandoned online games are laid to rest. He rules the lifeless and dull creatures of the castle and uses a legendary Spark that's said to be a very part of Gamindustry!" exclaimed the small girl. I was right to ask her about the topic, but I wish it could've been done without me losing my money.

"I also heard he has a one-of-a-kind drop too, do you know what it is?" I asked gently.

"Gust knows what it is, but to give it without some kind of compensation would be against my nature." She passed me a smirk that immediately told me what I needed to give her.

Sighing again, I passed her another thousand credits.

"Earthbreaker has a chance to drop the World Nerve, something used to keep the space, time, and physical balances of the world in check. When used with a long list of other ingredients, it can allow for dimensional travel without interrupting the laws of reality." explained the girl again.

"Well, thank you for the help, Gust was it?" I asked. I could only guess her name was Gust, seeing that we were the only ones in here and I didn't think she was calling me Gust. I'd never met someone that referred to themselves in the third person before.

"That's my name, and you're most welcome." She gave a cheery smile that somehow made me feel at ease. It reminded me alot of Nepgear's smile. Out of curiosity, I took a look around to check out the other potions Gust had for sale. I wondered if I should pick up some anti-freeze while I was around. Groundbreaker, from what I could tell, could cause the status ailments of freeze and paralysis. Compa probably already got some of those potions for our trip out of Lowee tomorrow.

eyeing a potion and seeing a few chunks inside it. That was likely one potion you wouldn't get me to drink. Still browsing, I asked, "So, Gust, you know Nepgear?"

"Gust has had many adventures with Nepgear." the girl replied.

I saw it to be the perfect time to see if I could figure out what exactly happened to Nepgear many years ago. I didn't have the heart to ask IF or Compa, but I had the feeling Gust would have a little more to say regarding the matter. I said nonchalantly to Gust, "Do tell."

"That might cost you something, you know?" said Gust.

"Come on, I'm sure someone as friendly and sweet as you could spare some time to tell a story?"

Gust giggled and said, "Well, since you're a friend of hers, Gust supposes she can tell you the story of that adventure."

Bingo. I had her ready to hand over info without charging me. She began telling a story of what all happened in Gamindustry years ago, when Arfoir tried to destroy everything. The previous CPUs sacrificed themselves to keep Arfoir at bay and are trapped in a dimension of darkness where Arfoir resides. That definitely cleared up why Nepgear was having those visions. Originally, I hoped the day of play would resolve those guilty apparitions, but seeing how deep-seated they were, I worried that we would have to resort to something more effective to get those visions out of her head.

"Thanks Gust, I'll see ya later," I waved goodbye as I left the store. She waved goodbye as well, hardly seen thanks to her smaller stature. With the information I was looking for, I thought it best to peek into the arcade and see how Nepgear was doing...

/o_.+._o\

"Nepgear, come on! Let's do this one next!" Ram cheered louder than any of the other kids there, motioning for Nepgear to follow her to the next arcade machine. It had only been an hour in the arcade and Nepgear was already getting tired. Rom was using the restroom while Ram and Nepgear kept at it, playing the day away. She pulled Nepgear over to a drum simulator, a pair of three yellow pads and some drumsticks near them.

"Wh-what is this game?" asked Nepgear, looking nervously at the screen showing a demo of a very fast paced and hard song.

"It's a drumming game, duh!" replied Ram simplistically, wearing a cheery smile as she swiped her card through a slot at the bottom of the machine.

Hesitant to swiper her own card, Nepgear asked, "This looks hard, are you sure you want to do this?"

"It's easy. What's wrong, are you scared?" Ram teased, her hands on her hips and wearing a mischevious smirk.

"I'm not scared! I've just never played anything like this before," replied Nepgear, adding her money to the machine by swiping her card. She was hesitant to do something as loud and barbaric as this with so many people around. Nepgear was already getting stares just for being with one of the CPUs of Lowee. She took a final look up to the sign on the machine that read, "Beatmania DCX"

"Nothing to be nervous about, it's just a game," Nepgear assured herself in the depths of her mind. Her eyes narrowed onto the screen where a random song was chosen. Ram set the difficulty down to normal so even Nepgear could get the hang of it. Nepgear looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was watching, but nobody really payed attention to just them, looking briefly at the game and moving on.

"First song: Game Over." the machine chimed in a female voice.

"Oh...heh...what a wonderful name for my first song..." said Nepgear to herself. She gripped the wooden drumsticks tightly in her hand and, once the song began, she gave it her best shot. Her performance didn't end as bad as she thought it would, and in fact, found the game to be pretty fun. "Hey, that was kinda fun!"

"Glad you think so, 'cause it only gets harder from here!" said Ram, wearing a devious smirk.

"Eep!" Nepgear didn't like the looks of hard mode, but the game selected an easier song, so she at least had a little faith that she wouldn't fail miserably.

"Second song: Rising Sun." the machine chimed again. Braced for impact, Nepgear took a deep breath and focused her eyes on the note screen. The song itself was easy to play, despite the intimidating difficulty, but Nepgear kept falling behind.

Ram, barely able to talk over the loud song, said, "Come on, Nepgear! Eyes on the song!"

"I'm sorry!" replied Nepgear, refocused on keeping the beat. Little did she know, Rom had finally returned and was watching as well. Nepgear, involved in the song, almost stepped on her feet by accident while stepping around to better hit the drums. A small crowd was gathering as the two CPUs played cooperatively. A bead of sweat rolled down her face as she finished off the song. She was well past invigorated now and felt on top of the world to have done as well as she did.

"Don't let it get to your head," started the smirking Ram, "We're not done yet!"

The machine picked another song at random, a spinning circle spanning a list of songs, landing on one with an absurdly high difficulty rating.

A warning siren started, followed by the machine saying, "Final song: Death From Above."

"Hope you still have some energy left!" said Ram over the sounds of the game. Nepgear's face cringed at just the first few notes. The firm, driving song alerted the horde by amassing a larger crowd behind the two as they pounded away at the drum. Nepgear felt like she was going to break something at this rate, but her fear of being embarrassed while playing outweighed her fear of breaking something. While she went nuts on the machine, people started clapping to the song and cheering her on. Sweat was now pouring down her face as she exhausted the last of her strength to finish off the hard song. With the song ended, the crowd amassed behind her clapped and cheered as they split up.

"That was fun! You didn't do half bad," said Ram.

"Good job...Miss Nepgear..." Rom said with a dim but audible voice. The sounds of all the machines made it hard for the three to hear each other unless they were right next to each other.

Nepgear sighed and brushed a trio of sweat beads away from her eyes, "That was fun, but my arms hurt a little now. I'm a bit hungry now too. Shall we eat?"

The twins agreed hastily and rushed over to the cafe, leaving the tired Nepgear in the dust.

"Wait for me!" Nepgear shouted to them, her weak legs and arms having a hard time getting going. It took her a while to catch up, but the smell of fresh food was teasing her into moving faster. Somehow, they hadn't gone broke yet, so they could afford a nice relaxing meal.

Ram, waiting in line next to Rom, asked Nepgear, "Having fun yet?

"Well, I'm tired and covered in sweat, but I am having a lot of fun," admitted Nepgear while deciding what she wanted to eat. Ram and Rom smiled and also took the time to decide what they wanted to eat. The bright glowing bars of magical light illuminated the board behind the cashiers. Everything sounded good, but with Ram and Rom's small stomachs, they wouldn't get to eat as much as they wanted to. The three, after a moment of decision, placed their orders and waited off to the side where they were supposed to pick up their order.

"I wonder what Code and the others are doing..." pondered Nepgear aloud.

"I dunno, what do you think they're doing Rom?"

"I...don't know either..."

/o_.+._o\

The streets were still a little icy and had a small thin layer of snow on the bottom that was tossed and turned as the fast gravity-defying vehicles zoomed past effortlessly. The stop signs flashed different colors as the cars flew past them, some stopping and some going. The buildings around me of mushrooms, brick, and wood hid streets and alleyways from the dull grey sun. I weaved in and out of the human traffic on the sidewalk and sometimes made my way to the side to read a street sign.

"G-Zero Drive? Yeah, it's damned official, I'm lost," I sighed to myself, tempting myself to call someone to come pick me up, but then I remembered that nobody other than Overdrive, Valve, and Mina really knew where what was around here. Valve was gone, and I didn't have Mina's number, nor did I have Overdrive's.

Quietly, I thought aloud, "I suppose it probably wouldn't hurt me to get some more physical exercise anyways, I think those mushrooms put a pound or two on me."

Turning the corner, the damned wind tried to blow me off my feet, but I held fast to the floor and kept moving along. To keep myself out of wind's way, I took to the alleys. They were more frost-ridden than anywhere else around, but at least I wouldn't get tossed around like a rag-doll.

A faint glow up ahead pulled me from my thoughts as I walked towards it. It was faint but it had a green aura eminating from it. I was somewhat worried that it was a beast of some sort or maybe another one of the mushroom men, but it wasn't. No, it was a strange pen of green and black buried in the snow. I picked it up and brushed the snow off of it.

"Must be one of those pens for the Lowee handheld..." I said to myself, looking around at it's strange texture and shape. Messing around with it, I pretended to draw a circle in thin air. As I did, the pen left a strange trail of green and once I connected the circle, it formed a grey portal. "Damn, what's this here?" I asked myself, poking the grey screen that seemed to have messed with reality somewhere. I poked my head into the grey portal and saw everything in an entirely different world. It looked like Lowee, and felt like it too, but the architecture was extremely foreign to me. They had red awnings around the buildings and there were a lot of brightly colored trees with snow atop them. There were strange rails of a bright red that were very intricate. The buildings were extremely tall too, the awnings on them following them all the way to their high tops. With my hand inside the portal, I flipped my phone out to check it.

"September 21st, 1989?!" I thought I was reading that wrong, but as I brought my phone back to my original dimension, it switched back to it's current date of 20XX. My eyes focused on that pen again, a small pen of time travel. I clicked the back button of it and the portal closed into nothingness like it was never there.

"That's time travel...and that's not supposed to be screwed with. I think I'll hand that off to Mina when I get back," I said to myself, stowing the pen away in the depths of my Axe-Hero jacket. I continued winding down paths and streets in an attempt to find the arcade Nepgear was taken to. I really just wanted to see if the twins were keeping her happy. The whole plan would be shot if even just a part of it went wrong. I wanted to keep Nepgear as far away from her visions as possible.

Making a sharp corner to another alleyway, I saw a semi-familiar face with her back facing me. I pinpointed that intimidating stature immediately to be Retro's. I had immense hesitation in even thinking about disturbing her, but my intent to check up on Nepgear outweighed that. I approached firmly, intending to make noise so I wouldn't startle her. Surprisingly, she didn't notice me right behind her. With a slightly shakey hand, I tapped on the frigid, metallic armor surrounding her shoulder. She whipped around with surprising speed, making me rear back just a little.

"Excuse me, Retro? Could you tell me where the Uber Funspot is?"

She looked at me with confusion, and judging from the small reticle rapidly jittering around on her green visor, she seemed pretty intent on scanning every part of me she could. After the brief seconds of silence, she turned around, beckoning me with her free hand.

Still a bit hesitant, I followed her closely. I wouldn't have minded her just telling me, but she didn't look the type to have much to say in the first place. I was led through a series of ice-covered streets and alleyways, almost slipping and falling at some points. I was getting really tired of trying to maneuver around Lowee, but at least I was getting help when I needed it. Despite the fact that I was still a bit intimidated by Retro.

Finally arriving at the Uber Funspot, Retro waited 'til I was at the entrance before getting ready to depart. Before she could leave, I said, "Thank you for leading me here. And thank you for clearing the forest for my party."

She merely nodded her head firmly before turning around and walking the other way, not a word said. If there was one person on Gamindustry that honestly scared me, it was her. Just the aura around her radiated a tense vibe that I didn't see from anyone, not even from myself.

I entered the arcade, wiping my wet shoes off on the welcome mat. Stepping onto the red carpet of the first floor, I looked around for the girls, wherever they may be. Beyond the depths of the crowds, I could see Nepgear's faint outline at the cafe, eating with the twins. It was hard to get a bead on her and I had to move around a lot to get a good view. I didn't want her to see me and think I was spying on her, I just wanted to check up on her without bothering her and interrupting her quality time with the twins. I knew that the three are good friends and I didn't need to be around all the time for her to enjoy that.

She was doing fine and was as happy as can be, but she looked pretty exhausted. I could only imagine, considering who she was with. I snuck quietly out of the arcade, weaving in and out of crowds to blend in. Once I was out of range, I made my way back to the Basilicom, determined not to get lost. The giant dome on the top of the Basilicom helped guide my way back without any problems other than some idiot in one of those space-cars almost striking me down. His vehicle, floating in the air, was purple with a yellow stripe and looked like either the machine was broken or the driver was. He couldn't maintain a straight line to save his life.

Walking up the slippery, marble stairs, I got to the doors of the Basilicom, eager to feel the gust of hot air that greeted me every time I entered. Flinging the doors open, I absorbed the radiant heat, shut the mighty doors behind me and shouted, "I'm home!" The artificial lights were on instead of the magical ones and I didn't see anybody until I walked around the Basilicom, going downstairs where I met up with Overdrive.

"What goes on, super trooper?" I asked, sitting down on a beanbag chair.

"Gaming, like usual. Trying to rank up in this game," he swiftly replied.

I chuckled and asked, "What is it that drives you to ranking up so much?"

"Well, in my eyes, ranking up is just a way of showing that you can get better at something. Never hurts to aim high and life, and I guess I like the ability to see my progress." Overdrive made a valid point. If he'd still been with the Faithbreakers, I had the feeling his answer'd be different, partially because he wanted to put up a good front to fool the other idiots of that ignorant clan. To be honest, Overdrive seemed to be the smartest one of those three, if not the most respectable.

I watched him game for a good hour or two before we headed upstairs to get more Creature Energy. Rummaging around in the kitchen, I asked Overdrive, "Think the girls are still having fun on their night out?"

"Hmph, probably. I know that mushroom hunt sure was something," he replied, taking a drink of his Creature Energy.

"Sure was, sure was..."

/o_.+._o\

Ram and Rom, after a while of playing the arcade games, head up to the second floor, aiming to see the dog park that was there. Nepgear wondered herself how on Gamindustry a full dog park could fit in an arcade, and better yet, why something like that was even in an arcade.

"Maybe it's for pet owners that don't want to leave their pets at home?" Nepgear asked in her head. Either way, she wasn't going to complain about getting to see little puppies. A distant barking from dogs of all sizes and kinds came from the bowels of the second floor.

Ram, pointing a happy finger to the dog park, said, "There it is! Come on!"

Rom and Nepgear quickly joined her, sitting near the low iron fence where one could openly pet the dogs that were there. Little bundles of fur bounced around the three of them, yipping happily as the girls pet them. Nepgear was especially fond of a little terrier that bounced up and down to be pet. She got a little closer to it, leaning over the gate to pet the little guy. As soon as she did, the terrier shoved it's nose down her shirt, deep down. Ram and Rom both snickered to each other at what the little dog did.

"Goodness, that's not a place to sniff!" Nepgear quickly retreated, the dog sitting down with pitiful eyes aimed at Nepgear. It broke her heart to disappoint the little fellow, but she really didn't want any intimacy between an animal. Luckily another dog greeted her, taking the place of the terrier. That one had a black and white coat of fur, and on his collar was a tag that read, "Watch and Game"

"Hello little fella!" Nepgear greeted the puppy. The dog's movements were stiff, but it walked near Nepgear and started to pant with it's tongue hanging out to the side.

"Aww, Rom, look! It looks like the puppy we have on Loweepups!" Ram shouted to Rom, bringing her over to the dog that Nepgear was with. The three simultaneously pet the dog and after a few seconds, the dog grew extremely stiff and fell over on it's side.

Looking at the poor dog that laid on its side, completely motionless, Nepgear asked, "What happened?"

"Ha! He still does it," chuckled Ram.

"Don't worry...Miss Nepgear...he's just playing dead," said Rom, poking the dog in the ear. As she did that, the dog quickly regained it's life and playfully barked and wagged it's tail. The three planned to spend the rest of the day with the dogs and possibly doing a quick round of go-karts, but as they looked at the time, it was nearing suppertime and they had to get home...

"Aw, but I don't want to leave!" complained Ram, crossing her arms.

"I don't either...but Mina will be mad if we miss supper." said Rom. They had to agree with each other on that, moving out of the arcade and homing in on the Basilicom.

"That was a lot of fun," said Nepgear, happily enjoying the walk home, even though the wind was chilled even more than it was before. The air had a bit of a bite to it and the sun was starting to go down. The magical orbs of light in the lanterns were active, lighting up the parts of the street that were shadowed by the colorful buildings around them. The walk was peaceful, save for the trio exchanging stories and jokes with each other. Nepgear was smiling more in that one day than she had in the past month. The Basilicom's warm halls greeted them as they wiped off their feet, deposited their shoes at the front door, and walked to the discussion chamber where a grand feast was laid out for the returning CPUs.

"Welcome home you three, hope you're hungry!" said IF as she helped set the tables.

Nepgear's eyes sparkled at the sight of all the well prepared food. Ram and Rom quickly rushed to their seats next to Mina where they usually sit. The smell of food wafted through the air like a calm summer breeze and the warmth of the room put all at ease, if not to sleep.

Overdrive and I both ate our food quietly, the twins sitting next to Overdrive. I beckoned for Ram to pass the salt, her doing so politely for once, wearing a smile that I didn't like at all. As soon as I tipped the shaker over, the top came clean off, spilling a full pile of salt on my food.

"Keep calm, they're just kids," I mumbled to myself, Overdrive chuckling next to me.

"You mad, bro?" asked a giggling Nepgear.

I took a deep breath, relaxed myself, and said, "I'm not mad. Knowing those two, I probably should've checked for that to begin with."

"Are you sure you're not mad?" asked the smiling Ram.

"I'm fine, it was just a joke, I understand," I said calmly, trying to eat my food, "Though I might want to have the rest of my food checked in case someone decided to spike my meal.

Ram, trying to hold back a laugh, said, "Oh, and we doodled on your axe, by the way."

My now-widened eyes shot over to Grindrix, who was laying on the floor, doodled on with marker. Anger overflowing, I got up from my seat, scooped up my poor battleaxe, and proceeded to chase the little brats around the room with my axe held high over my head, shouting, "I'm gonna kill you both!"

"Now kids, no running in the halls!" shouted Mina to the twins and possibly me. I didn't even quite hear her over my fuming rage that the little asshats just defiled my sacred blade. My adreniline was pumped and I could chase the two all night if I had to.

"IF, would you kindly?" asked Nepgear, looking over to her hungry friend. IF nodded and waited til Ram and Rom ran past, then stuck her foot out. I was tripped and launched to the floor, Grindrix hitting the floor too.

"Sit down and chill out berserker boy." said IF. I grumbled to myself and moved back over my seat and proceeded to eat, keeping an eye on the two troublemakers in case they decided to screw with me more. I thought to myself as to how I was going to get back at the two, holding Grindrix near.

"Code," IF shouted to me.

I couldn't do much to harm them, but a few pranks wouldn't be too awful bad.

"Code!" IF shouted again.

If there was a way to scare the shit outta them, that'd be great.

IF grew tired of shouting, took a piece of napkin, wetted it down, and shot it at me like a spitball.

"Hey! The hell's wrong with you?" I gave IF one of my angry expressions that didn't seem to faze her much.

"Pass the salt, please," said IF. I rolled my eyes and passed it along the side of the table to her.

"These mushrooms are good...where'd you find them?" asked Rom, digging into a well cut plate of mushrooms.

"We found them in the Tundra Valley. These were different though, they could talk!" Nepgear began explaining her trip to the forest. So far, from what I could tell, my idea of a day of play for my sister was a complete success. Not once did she space out at the table and the whole while I was around her, I could feel her positive energy radiating from her. That and the luscious perfume she used. I think I could say our mission was accomplished.

A loud rumbling noise emitted from me, silencing all until I was done with my loud bowel movement.

I pointed over to Overdrive and said, "Don't look at me! He did it!"

"Like hell I did!"


	13. Any objections, Lady?

I woke up after a long slumber, my hair following my head up. I felt very warm, something was laying on me, judging from the soft movements they made. It wasn't Nepgear or IF or Compa, no, it was the twins. Last I remembered, we all were watching a movie on Webflix, and then the rest was black. The whole group was down in the den, sleeping. I smiled at the two sleepy CPUs resting up against me like I was their older brother or something. As my eyes readjusted to the dim lamplight not far from where we slept, I could make out my party members one by one. I found Nepgear sleeping not far from Compa, IF sleeping right next to Compa.

"Mission accomplished." I whispered to myself, watching Nepgear sleep with a gentle smile. It seemed that our day of play had a good effect on the girl's mind, hopefully that could last until we got to the Phantom Valley. I'd heard rumors of something in there that could help us purge those haunting visions from her mind completely.

"Mmm..." the twins sighed as their spinning heads rose up.

"Morning sleepyheads," I greeted. The two looked up at me and then fled from me. I laughed aloud at their instant reaction to get away from me. "Relax, it's not like I bite or anything."

"You're still weird! We don't want to end up weird like you too!" replied Ram.

Rom joined her sister and said, "Weirdness...spreads..."

I rolled my eyes and got up out of my beanbag chair to stretch my legs and yawn. One by one the others woke up, their eyes darting around as they adapted to the light. Taking brief control of our group as they woke themselves up, I walked upstairs and put our gear together. There were still a few plates left from our big dinner left over, gathering occasional Ice Beetles around them. As I grouped our gear together, the bugs would occasionally land on me and walk around. They were frigid as frozen Oblivion, but somehow, they were kinda cute. One of them with a short horn would occasionally land on my shoulder.

"Hi little one." I'd greet the little bug. I hoped my summoning level would be high enough for me to talk to the little thing. He'd just flap his wings and bob his head around a little. It was good enough for me, and he wasn't causing any problems, so I let him hang around. I could still feel the rush from all that Creature Energy I downed last night. I regretted chugging all of that too, I had the feeling my bladder was going to be backed up for a week. On the bright side though, I felt energized and positive!

"Ah, you're awake," I greeted Nepgear as she entered the discussion chamber, "Good morning, Miss Nepgear. I hope you slept well."

"Thank you, Code, and yes, I slept very well. That movie was really funny last night, wasn't it?" asked Nepgear, helping me pack our bags. I could still smell her sweet scent that had me on Cloud 9 every time I could smell it. My brain had to take a moment to sort out the neurotoxin and remember what exactly it was that we watched on Webflix. As much as I didn't want to, I pretended I remembered and agreed with Nepgear.

"I hope you're up for an adventure Gear, we're heading deep into enemy territory today." said the approaching IF, tossing a can of orange juice in her hands. Her hair looked like it was even more of a mess than normal, and I could tell Nepgear noticed too when she started giggling.

Raising a single, lazy eyebrow, IF asked, "What's up?"

Nepgear held one hand over her giggling mouth and pointed with her other hand at IF's messy hair. IF tried to look up and could see a tuft of hair jutting out. She pinched it in her fingers and pulled on it to try and organize it. It refused to cooperate.

"You might want to do something about that," I commented, holding back a smirk of my own. Compa come back in and was snickering as she walked to Nepgear and I.

"Iffy, you've got bad bedhead!" said Compa bluntly.

"I'm well aware of this," sighed the aggravated IF. Our convoy finished packing their clothes and other items and stored them using Nepgear's handy little handheld.

"So are you feeling like some mighty warrior now that you have all your stuff?" asked a sarcastic Ram, her hands on her hips.

I boasted happily, "Ha! I feel better than that, I feel like the master chief of all warriors!"

"Yeah right! And I feel like a space-ninja that talks in Haiku and loves emoticons," replied the bashful Ram.

"Space ninjas...are cooler than warriors." Rom agreed with her cheery sister.

"B.S! Warriors are ten times more awesome!" I argued.

"Are not!" Ram continued to argue.

"Yeah, they are!"

"Netiznot!"

"Jatizso!"

"Will you two shut up? And quit making so many gaming references?" asked IF bluntly, interrupting our conversation, "Besides, we all know that rogues are the best class of them all."

I raised my axe up with a single hand and said, "You wanna piece of this?"

"Ha! Funny joke is funny," replied IF.

Ram and I looked at each other and just laughed. I hadn't felt so carefree in a long time and I was loving every moment of it. Once we were done, IF beckoned for me to come on and hurry up.

"Mina," I grabbed her attention, her head turning to face me with her long blue hair following right along, "Take good care of the twins."

Mina nodded and assured me that the two would be well taken care of. I bid the twins farewell, giving the both of them a quick pat on the head. They smiled warmly and waved goodbye as I rejoined my group. I waved goodbye and went on my way with the others in tow, heading to the city gates. The cold wasn't too harsh, but regardless, there was always snow on the ground. I, myself, wasn't too fond of being in the cold, and going out in the Tundra Valley made me a little frightened. I hated the cold, hated it with a passion, but I'd have to deal with it for a while. There was another Spark on the line and I wasn't going to wimp out. Plus I had a sister to take care of.

The city guard let us through the mighty brick walls around the city and into the Tundra Valley. The trees somehow looked even deader than they were yesterday.

"Cody, are you okay? You look pale," said Compa, taking a close look at my cold face.

"I'm fine, I just hate the cold," I replied, my voice as cold as my body. Compa shrugged and continued to chat with both IF and Nepgear. Overdrive walked beside me, and when I started looking for Valve, I remembered that she was gone.

"Well, what'd you think of the movie last night?" asked Overdrive, looking over at me with his crossbow in his hands.

"Truth be told, I don't even remember what the hell happened last night," I chuckled as I spoke, a quick burst of frozen breath coming from my mouth as I spoke.

Overdrive gave me a surprised expression and asked, "You don't remember either?"

"I swear bro, it was those damned mushrooms." I replied without missing a beat. We laughed together and both swore to ourselves we'd never eat another mushroom again. In the distance, hidden in the depths of the forest, I thought I saw one of those little rabbit things from the day before. "No, I'm sure that was it," I whispered to myself, assuring myself that what I saw was indeed one of those rabbits. Our convoy reached a crossroad where, further down the northern road, there was a pair of rabbits fighting over a toilet bowl plunger. The strange looking rabbits took one quick look at me and bolted. I could've sworn one of them had a huge scar on it's head. "Yeah, you better run you little asshole!" I shouted at the distant critter. A thing of snow fell on me from something above me. I shook my head, my brown wavey hair scattering snow everywhere.

"West: Browser Castle. North: Phantom Valley. East: Super Secret Boss," Nepgear read the sign that was directly above me. I looked up, stood back some, then read the same thing.

"Why the hell would people put up a sign that leads people to some secret boss? I bet it's probably a trap." asked the frustrated IF. I wondered the same myself why people would even be able to come back alive to put up a sign about this boss.

"I would be careful, sometimes those things aren't put up just for humor. Headshot told me about this one kid that followed a similar sign and got mulched up by some enormous crab. People said the damned thing was invincible," educated Overdrive, taking a potshot at a rabbit that tried to attack him from behind. The thing's ear was pinned to the tree and all it could do was dangle until someone got him down.

Looking towards the eastern road, Nepgear said, "Let's not take any chances then. We've got a mission to take care of anyways."

"Agreed, let's...erm...well..." Compa looked ahead at the eastern road that would normally lead to Browser Castle, had it not been blanketed with snow drifts.

"Well, that ain't good." I commented, wanting to start walking back to Lowee. I knew better than to abandon my party, and my mind was able to force that thought into keeping me from running. I really didn't want to waddle in snow, my legs were freezing already.

Compa, giving me her usual worried gaze, asked, "Cody, are you sure you're okay? You're shivering."

"Says the one that's wearing a mini-skirt. I'm surprised you don't have any status ailments doing that." I replied harshly by accident.

"Nothing wrong with being fashionable while you adventure. Plus her perk lets her wear anything she wants in hot and cold weather and not get sick," educated IF, playing with her green phone that had little service out in the depths of the forest.

I shrugged and braced myself as I waddled around in the deep snow. "Have I ever mentioned how much I hate the cold?" I complained aloud by accident. That sentence was supposed to stay in my head, but my frustration vocalized it. A loud explosion made me jump almost to the top of one of the trees. Overdrive had shot an explosive arrow at a tree, making it fall into the path behind us.

"Dammit, I missed..." sighed Overdrive, reloading his crossbow.

"You scared the hell outta me dammit!" I shouted, making more snow drop on my head from the trees above. I had to shake my head around again to remove snow from my locks of hair. I grumbled to myself and kept moving. Grindrix was starting to get cold and I worried that she might freeze over soon. It was hard to ask to set up camp already when we'd just gotten into the forest depths. It'd been about an hour of traveling through snow that would fluctuate between high and low, and sometimes the winter winds would whip around the snow drifts.

"Hey! I think I see someone!" cheered Nepgear, being the first to trodge through the snow.

"Be careful Ge-Ge! They might be baddies!" said Compa, chasing after her. Overdrive and IF started moving in too, while I stood behind, trying to work past my fear and move with them. My body was freezing cold and I couldn't stop chattering my teeth, while the others seemed just fine out in this tundric waste. I forced myself forward, plunging myself deep in the snow to catch up with the others. None of the girls that caught up with the distant figure had their weapons drawn, leading me to believe that it was safe.

"Halt! You can't go any further and into the Frozen Oasis." a little green goblin, decorated in smelly, red winter clothes greeted us. Behind him was a large tree encased completely in thick ice. It looked like there was something that was growing on the branches too, something red in color.

"Not much of an oasis..." muttered Overdrive under his breath. IF elbowed him in the ribs to get him to shut up.

"So, how do we get in?" asked IF bluntly. She wore an expression like something was going through her mind, and I worried what it was that she was thinking.

"Well, perhaps, we can let you in if you help us. We need food and-" the goblin was cut short as IF slashed him apart with her claws, friendly fire off and ready to kill.

"Come on! Let's loot the village!" shouted IF, motioning for us to come inside the now open gates. Nepgear and I were hesitant at the barbaric attempt at pillaging, but both of us shrugged and went along with it. Nepgear kept telling herself that IF had a good reason for doing such a thing. She felt bad about killing poor innocent forest dwellers, but as she killed, I reminded her that with the weather, they'd die off in a week anyways.

"Well that was hectic," commented Overdrive, putting a final killshot into an red-suited goblin.

"So why'd we just slay a very small village again?" I asked IF, my eyes trained on her as she wiped blood off her claws.

"Well, the way I looked at it, better to just kill and loot 'em than take side-quests from them that we'll likely never get around to doing. It's easier this way, trust me," replied IF. I couldn't argue with her logic, but I questioned if the goblins would even have anything of value. Sure there were probably a few potions and stuff, but no rare loot or anything of genuine value. "Nepgear, go loot the barracks, Compa, raid the infirmiry, you two," IF pointed a finger at us, "just keep doing what you've been doing I guess."

Overdrive and I looked at each other and shrugged. I walked over to a low hanging branch of the frozen tree and looked closely at the strange red object attached to the tips of the branches. I laid a cold and shakey finger on it and it quickly dissolved. My hand reared back in instinct.

"Hey, hey, what's going on? Am I finally free?" asked the apple.

"Hey, dude, come check it out! I got a talking apple!" I shouted to Overdrive.

"You're kidding, right?" asked Overdrive, looking at the apple. It had a mouth and even two little eyes.

"I'm not kidding, it's a freakin' talking apple!" I replied bluntly.

"Hey, hey, hey guys! Hi! Thanks for freeing me! Hey, hey, hey, wanna hear a joke?" the apple would repeat itself constantly until it got a response from either Overdrive or me.

"Ugh, who is that that keeps talking?" asked an annoyed IF. I held out the annoying apple in my hand while Overdrive pointed at the thing. "Kill it already, it's getting annoying!" commanded IF. She held her ears with her hands that still held onto a couple bags of loot.

"Hehe, hey Code, wanna play baseball?" asked Overdrive, tossing the apple between his hands. I held Grindrix with two hands over my shoulder with the blunt part facing outwards.

Readying myself for a swing, I replied, "Batter up!" Overdrive threw the apple at me in a high arc. I stepped back and swung, smashing the apple to mere bits and chunks and flinging it's innards in a shotgun blast away from me. Needless to say, that apple wasn't talking anymore. But IF sure was.

"Can't you aim when you smash an apple to bits?" asked the angry IF. Overdrive was trying to hold in a giggle and I shrugged and wiped the excess apple juice off of Grindrix.

"Look at it this way, at least you'll smell just like apples!" I tried to look at the bright side of the situation. IF rolled her eyes and continued wiping her excessively large trench coat off. The three of us wondered where Nepgear and Compa went. We circled around to the other side of the tree where the barracks and infirmiry were. Compa and Nepgear both were hiding in the depths of a random hut, looking up at the frozen tree. They saw us and motioned for us to quickly come over to where they were.

We walked over there, then Compa quickly closed the door into the hut.

"What's going on you two?" asked IF, hardly able to see in the dark hut. There was no sun out to come into the windows, and in the Tundra Valley, there was just a grey cloudy expanse that reeked of harshness and ice.

Compa cracked open the door of the hut slightly, just enough for IF and I to take a look outside. "Look! Up at the tree!"

"Huh, well that explains the talking apples," said IF, looking at the frozen mangled face etched onto the huge tree.

"Talking apples?" asked Nepgear.

"You don't want to know," Overdrive quickly replied. I took no worry in the problem and saw nothing to fear. The tree, or rather, ent was frozen solid and probably wouldn't move for years, if ever at all.

"Don't worry you two, it's just a tree anyways. Let's get going, we probably aren't far from the castle," IF motioned for Nepgear and Compa to follow, but they needed a little extra coaxing. Overdrive and I both carried the two out of the hut and out into the open, away from the creepy face stuck in the icy tree.

"Just pretend it never happened and keep moving," said IF.

We continued walking for another two hours with little progress and daylight slowly winding down to an end. This place would be twice as cold at night, and I grew fearful that we wouldn't have any kind of camp set up. Dead of night with no fire, my mind fled into the depths of my chest at just the thought. I had finally lost feeling in my legs and now that numbness was starting to slow me down.

"Cody, you need to have Compa treat you, you're getting slowed down," IF commanded, sending Compa in with some much needed medicine. I let my building trust in Compa allow her to do what she must to help. She raised up her giant syringe, and that's when my mind flocked to my chest, possibly lower.

"Eep! Not the syringe, not the syringe!" I whimpered, kneeling down in the snow. I waited for any sort of pain, but felt nothing. A loud crack sounded nearby me though. I raised up to find Compa protecting me from a Fenrisice that was ready to pounce on me.

"Sorry if I scared you Cody, but that wolf wanted to eat you!" said Compa, getting a potion from her inventory and handing it to me.

"Thanks," I smiled to her, pinched together my nose with my fingers, and drank the whole potion in one go. It tasted sour but it helped me warm up a little, to the point that I could control my teeth chattering. I handed the empty vial back to Compa and she stowed it away in her inventory, humming a little tune to herself.

"Where've I heard that tune before?" I asked myself aloud.

Compa cocked her head to the side and said, "You don't remember?"

I shook my head in response. IF gave her a puzzled look, and Overdrive finally asked what it was from.

"It was the song that Iffy danced to last night!" exclaimed Compa, "What was it? The Bad Pear dance?"

"IF? Dance? What sort of mirror-verse did I end up in?" I asked, my eyes going straight over to IF. I've never seen her dance before in my life and I sure as hell didn't remember her doing it last night. It didn't even register as possible in my mind.

Nepgear giggled to herself and said, "Yeah, I think I remember it now."

As we walked and talked, the snow drifts started to get bigger and the snow was getting deeper, getting all the way to my groin. Occasionally snow would fall from the branches of dead trees above us and scatter on our party. The potion Compa gave me earlier was starting to wear off and I could feel my legs growing extremely cold again. Just the bitter chill felt like it could kill any unwary adventurer. So far, it seemed like the snow was more likely to kill in the forest than the creatures in it.

"Guys, stop," commanded IF in front of the group. As directed, our convoy halted. I lowered my headphones from my head and listened in on our surroundings. I could hear the wind whistling through the trees and the snow shifting under my feet, and something else. It sounded like a growling noise.

"I really hope that's just someone's hungry stomach..." said IF, readying her claws. Dark eyes of wolves circling around us slowly grew closer, weaving in and out of the dead trees.

"Open fire!" shouted Overdrive, taking the first shot and wounding a Fenrisice. It howled and pounced at him. He kicked the beast in midair and sent it flying into a nearby tree. We didn't have much ability to move around with the deep snow. A Fenrisice leapt at me with it's demonic, saliva-ridden teeth bared and it's rigid claws aimed at my shoulders. There was enough room below for me to actually duck inside the depths of the deep snow I stood in.

My plan was a somewhat failure though, for the creature then pounced on IF instead, distracting her from killing off her own enemy. Compa quickly shot the creature off of IF's back before it could sink it's claws into her. My feet would hardly move in this deep snow, but in the distance I could see Nepgear being forced into isolation because of the wolves. I trodged as fast as I could through the thick snow, my legs starting to fall into numbness. Another wolf leapt at me, but I swatted it away with Grindrix, coating her blade in purple blood. Little did I see, another wolf came from behind and swatted the back of my arm, clawing through my jacket and spilling already-cold blood.

"Bastard!" I shouted, dropping Grindrix's blade down on the creature, splitting it's spine in two halves before lobbing it's head off. Nepgear was now cornered and it looked like one of the beasts already scratched her up. I completely forgot about transforming Grindrix into Shredrix. Grindrix's power was changed from blade to bullet as I unleashed a hailstorm of lead on the creatures. I didn't care if I was missing most of the time. They turned their attention away from her and focusing on me. They tried to leap around and dodge in the snow, but my aim was too fast. I gunned down all but one, letting the last one get close before shooting it point-blank in the mouth. Right then, a loud explosion came from my left, blowing snow onto me. I didn't know what caused the explosion, but a firm, bone cracking impact forced me to the floor, frozen bark splintering into my back. I could taste a mixture of blood and snow in my mouth, and before long, could feel a Fenrisice breathing it's horrid breath on me as it loomed over me, standing atop the fallen tree. Nepgear ran over, holding her wounded arm in one hand and holding her sword in the other.

"I'll help you brother!" said Nepgear, swatting away at the creature.

"Nepgear, you're wounded, keep back!" I shouted at her, trying to wedge my arm and Shredrix out of their snowy tomb. She refused to listen, and even though the Fenrisice would snap at her, she'd continue to pound it with what little energy remained, barely doing damage to it. The wolf pounced on her and left her frozen in fear. I tried and tried furiously to get Shredrix out. I looked again at poor cornered Nepgear and noticed her new sword, layered with sharp crystals that likely only dealt ice damage, something that'd be wasted effort against the wolves. "No wonder she's not doing shit for damage!" I said to myself, attracting a Fenrisice over to my pinned location.

"Oh crap! Oh crap, oh crap!" I shouted to myself, trying to get out Shredrix. I could feel my arm beginning to get free from it's snowy bounds. I could only move it a little though, not enough to save my ass from the Fenrisice ready to pounce on my exposed face. A sharp arrow followed by a blast of acid coated the approaching beast, Compa and Overdrive rushing over after that to try and get the fallen tree off of me. As they moved it, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. My guess was that one of my ribs was cracked.

Nepgear screamed as the Fenrisice swiped at her hand, making her drop her blade. Just as it was ready to eat her face, IF dove in and clawed apart the beast, putting a pistol bullet in it's head and then running over to help Nepgear up. The threat seemed over for now, but both Nepgear and I needed healing badly.

"Now hold still Cody, this'll wont hurt a bit..." said Compa, preparing a small syringe and poking my chest with it.

There was a sharp pinch, followed by numbness in my chest. I could feel something repairing, but it still hurt like hell to even get up. Overdrive loaned me his shoulder until I could feel better. "I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough sister, I tried," I apologized to Nepgear while Compa fixed her up.

"No, you're okay Code, I'm sorry I got too far from the group," Nepgear counter-apologized. We both smiled and chose to look past it. I could stand firmly on my legs finally and Nepgear seemed fine. All I could see up ahead at the moment was a large brick structure up in the distance. I wasn't about to jinx myself and claim it to be the Browser Castle I had hoped it to be, but I had a gutsy feeling that it was indeed what we were looking for.

"There it is! The Browser Castle!" shouted Compa, trodging through the snow as fast as her legs could.

And with that said, I no longer felt responsible if we just jinxed ourselves by saying that. There was a large snow covered patio made of stone outside a dark entrance leading into the depths of the castle. Its walls were covered in ice and snow and it looked like there were a few assorted creatures frozen to the wall coupled with some ice beetles buzzing around.

"Alrighty, let's head in," IF tried to walk in, but the door leading inside was quickly jammed shut by an icy door. An invisible field of magic surrounding the stone patio and trapped us inside. We all backed up into one another and braced for impact. We waited for minutes that felt like hours and all of us began to grow impatient.

"Haha! You should've seen the look on your faces!" A disembodied voice chimed to us in an icy echo, "I bet you were all expecting a boss fight weren't you? Nah, you're fine, come on in."

The door opened up leading inside the castle. Overdrive was scratching his head in confusion and I wondered what kind of place would fake a boss fight.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get inside," said IF, leading the pack. One by one we walked inside the relatively warm castle.

A large, ice blue creature with black armored skin floated before us, then bowed to us. "Welcome to Browser Castle! Home to all the MMO games abandoned by society! My name's Bill Chill, and I'll show you around the castle," greeted the monster.

"This is quite an unexpected turn of events," commented Overdrive.

"Yeah, no kidding," I agreed with him. The both of us expected a hostile enviroment of fight or flight proportions filled with monsters that'll rip your spine out and feed it to you in seconds flat.

"Is this a tourist attraction?" asked IF with a raised brow, hiding her claws in her long sleeves, seeing no need to remain armed.

"Yes ma'am! After a long journey with my boss, we found this place teeming with long forgotten creatures and technology. He has lost his desire for war, so now we spend our time keeping this place up and running." explained Bill. His voice was cheery but a little icy too. You could see a trail of frozen moisture in the air he passed through. Bill led us to a iron door leading to a gaming lounge. He opened the door with his black and muscular hand and walked inside. A group of strange looking robots with white bodies, square red heads with two little eyes, and wheels for feet gamed at old looking computers.

"How the hell?"

"Dude, you are so freakin' lucky!"

"Dammit, I need a medic over here!"

The little robots conversed with each other while their robotic eyes were trained on the computer screens.

Bill cleared his throat, gestured for us to come in, and said, "This is the gaming lounge. You can usually see our most common residents, the B.O.R, gaming here. Say hi, B. !"

All of the B.O.R turned their heads, waved, and said in unison, "Hi Bill! Hi tourists!"

"Hi little robot people!" Compa waved in response.

Nepgear's eyes shined as she saw the little cute robots. Squatting down to their height, Nepgear scrutinized every inch of the robot she had her eyes on, uttering to herself, "So small, so efficient, so cute!"

"Is B.O.R an acronym for something?" asked Overdrive.

Bill thought to himself for a moment and said, "Not really, they used to have an official acronym but they forgot it, so now my boss and just call them Basic Operational Robots."

We continued with the tour after watching the B.O.R game for a few minutes. The halls were well lit by sconces and the floors were actually smoothed to the point of looking like concrete. Bill and his boss had to have taken a lot of time to make the place look as nice as it did.

"We keep the floors as smooth as possible so the B.O.R don't trip over one another." stated Bill, leading us down a slope and to a lower area of the castle. There weren't any windows, but there were at least a few ceiling lights. The place was receiving power from somewhere, but I didn't see any power lines leading inside. Bill led us to another room titled the Networking Station. Bill led us into a room where dozens of wires were plugged into sockets on the walls, and the little B.O.R constantly switched and checked the wires.

His hand held out towards the server towers, Bill said, "This is how we keep all the servers for the abandoned MMO games up. This whole network took years to set up, but now we can enjoy all the defunct games we want without relying on outside sources."

"Dude, I could totally go for a pint of oil right about now."

"I know right? Hey, you ready for the LAN party tonight?"

"Totally! I'm getting Paul back for the last party."

Two B.O.R casually conversed with each other, totally unaware of us "tourists" taking a close gander at what would otherwise be a very important part of the dungeon.

"I could totally spend a few nights here," said Overdrive, taking a look around all the tech in the room with me.

"And you can! We've got a small hotel service for gamers looking to stay a while," stated Bill, heading outside of the room and motioning for us to follow.

"I feel like you've taken classes in the art of the sales pitch," remarked IF crudely.

"What can I say? Comes with the job!" said Bill.

Nepgear looked distracted again, so I tapped on her shoulder to wake her back up. "Come on Nepgear, don't be spacing out now," I told her, grabbing her attention just long enough to get a quiet "sorry" from her. It still burdened me to see her like this. No matter what's done, it seemed like nothing can snap her out of her guilt-burden. I wanted to get the next Spark and get out fast, but I couldn't just leave her in the dust and forget about her problems. As a fellow party member and guardian of Nepgear, her problems were automatically my problems as well.

I took ahold of Nepgears cold, but soft hand, and that was just enough to get her out of her trance. "We've got to keep moving or we'll get left behind," I said warmly to her. She smiled and nodded, still holding onto my hand for until we got caught up with the group. I let her walk at her own pace after that.

"So, what's your boss's name?" asked IF, her hopes of prying information from Bill drifting in between her words.

"Hmm? Oh, he doesn't like me saying his name aloud in public," replied Bill. It looked like IF's speechcraft level wasn't high enough for this one. Nepgear would probably have to take care of the problem, either that or Overdrive and I.

"I'm sure you can make an exception. How about a trade? Your information for mine?" IF tried again. Bill still refused to mention his boss's name, despite our already present knowledge of him.

"I don't suppose you've ever heard of someone by the name of Earthshaker?" asked Overdrive.

Bill stopped moving for a minute and muttered something under his breath.

"Bingo," IF whispered to herself.

"Alright, alright, yes the rumors are true," Bill finally submitted, heaving a moisture-freezing sigh, "I work under him. Why?"

IF smirked and was just about to say something when Nepgear asked, "Your boss has something really important that we need. Can we please meet with him?"

We continued walking, Bill holding off the tour for the moment. The halls weaved in and out of large rooms of wires and deep into the Browser Castle. The air was starting to cool down the further we went into the castle. It smelt musty down there, and occasionally I'd see an ice beetle or two skitter around.

Bill opened a door leading to a private gaming lounge, crossed his arms as he stood before a detailed gaming station, and said, "I'll let you see him, but only if you can beat me at a game of ATOD."

"Wow, these are really cool!" said Nepgear, looking around the circular gaming station. It consisted of a chair, a metal support that could move down to put a trio of LCD TV screens near the chair, and a small compartment to store gaming consoles and computers in. On the side it said "Dictator 201".

"Fancy," commented IF, leaning up against the wall with me.

"What's ATOD?" asked Nepgear.

"It's a battle arena game. Used to have a bunch of servers but a lot of them went down due to lack of interest in the game," Overdrive educated while checking his crossbow, "Headshot used to play the hell out of it until the server went down."

Nepgear sat down in the gaming chair, the leather seat of it forming to her body while the LCD screens were lowered to her eyesight. The machine was completely silent as it moved mechanical parts around and turned on equipment for use. The fans mounted on the spine of the chair blew warm air towards IF and I as we leaned on the brick wall.

Bill passed an instruction manual to Nepgear, telling her to study well, because he wont go easy on anyone. I doubted if Nepgear would be able to grasp the game well enough to play against someone that's well versed in it. Overdrive or I speculated that our intervention might be required if Nepgear can't do it.

"Does it look hard?" I asked Nepgear as I loomed over her shoulder.

Her facial expression screamed "confused" but I knew she didn't want to admit it. Instead she just said, "I think I can get it."

"Let me know if you need help and I'll take a look at it." said Overdrive, looming over her on the other side of the chair, opposite of me. I caught various glimpses of the games mechanics, and it honestly didn't seem too complex, but it might've looked that way from Nepgear's casual gaming eyes. I would've expected no less for her to get confused, but that's why we're here. Whenever she had questions, Overdrive and I tried out best to explain, and occasionally argued between one another in the process. When Nepgear felt ready, we stood off to the side to cheer her on.

"You've got this, Nepgear, I've got faith in you," I said to her as I stood back.

"We've all got faith in you, do us proud soldier." said Overdrive. Nepgear braced herself and told Bill that she was ready. The two joined a server and proceeded to duke it out while the rest of us cheered her on from the sidelines.

"I sure hope Nepgear can win..." said Compa with her hands clasped together.

"I do too, we need to get that Spark as soon as possible," replied IF, her arms crossed as she watched Nepgear's screen. Nepgear struggled to get everything together the way she wanted, Bill was trying to rush her but Nepgear wouldn't have any of that. I was impressed at how quickly she picked up with the game. The girl's adaptable, I'll give her that.

For a while we watched the two exterminate each other, but they were at a stalemate for a while and we grew bored of watching and would chat with each other, mainly about random things about our lives. I had a feeling we'd be here for a while, Nepgear and Bill were neck and neck and there wasn't any kind of time limit. I slid my headphones on for a while and IF played with her phone. I wondered what kind of messages she kept getting that had her checking the damned thing constantly.

While the two went at it, I went up to Overdrive, greeting him softly. "How's the game looking?"

"They're still at it. Probably gonna be for a while," said Overdrive. He played with a strange medallion in his hand, gazing at it on occasion.

"What's that?" asked Compa, coming over to join the conversation.

Overdrive smirked and said, "It's the custom medal I made for the Faith Breakers. All of us got one."

It certainly didn't look easy to make. With edges made of stained glass and a large topaz in the middle, words lining the middle ring said, "Honor, Power, Respect" in cursive writing. Looking at the medallion, I asked him, "How did you get involved with the Faith Breakers in the first place?"

"The three of us grew up together. Headshot was the one that came up with the idea. It was always an aspiration he had. Our parents were grand champions in the Leanbox Coliseum, back when it was still around," Overdrive chuckled to himself, continuing with a smile, "He always said that we'd be 'the best clan to ever exist'. Kid fooled himself too much, but I guess that's what dreams are for."

"Do you miss them at all?" asked Compa.

"I can't say I miss them exactly, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't worry about them. I wish they never got that 'conquer the nations' idea. If they hadn't, all three of us would've been fighting for the CPUs from the start."

"Maybe they'll turn over a new leaf!" Compa exclaimed.

Overdrive laughed and said, "You think the headstrong leader's gonna give up that easily? In all seriousness, I doubt if they'll learn, at least not with the world so off-key as it is. Someday though, I want to make up for what I've done."

"Joining us was a start to that," I told him, leaving the conversation for the moment to see if the match was over yet. It was over finally, Nepgear clambering out of her gaming seat. Her legs were wobbly, leading IF and Compa to help keep her up.

"Good game, good game indeed," said Bill, holding out a friendly hand to Nepgear. I couldn't believe my eyes and ears, I thought I was still trapped in a daydream, but what I saw was no illusion. A gamer with good sportsmanship! One of the last of a dying breed was standing before Nepgear with a friendly hand outstretched. Nepgear smiled and shook his bulky hand.

"Holy crap, I think my brain just had a heart attack..." I thought aloud.

"Code, that makes no sense whatsoever," said IF.

"I can't believe it, a gamer with sportsmanship! You good sir, have my respect," I gave a warm smile towards Bill and completely overlooked asking who even won.

"This castle is known for being a safe haven for casual gamers, doncha know?" asked Bill.

"I thought casual gaming had died along with sportsmanship," Overdrive replied quickly, looking over to Bill.

"Anyways, since you won, I'll show you the way to my boss's office." Bill escorted us out of the private gaming room and back upstairs to a locked stone door. I was amazed that a beginner like Nepgear was able to take down someone as experienced as Bill, but then IF informed me that Bill had only played ATOD a few times and was about as experienced as Nepgear was. The stone door shut behind us and all that lit our chilling path forward were a few torches that had barely lit flames.

"It's cold in here," I sighed with frozen breath, swatting away another ice beetle that would buzz around my ears. Even with my hair growing longer by the day, that still wasn't enough to drive away the harsh cold that would assault my head. I feared walking in, every step I took reminded me of that dreadful winter in Planeptune that nearly froze me to my grave. I kept going, not just because of the Spark, but because I promised myself I'd do everything I could for the party. Compa would sometimes nudge my arm and make sure I was still doing alright. She really did take concern for my wellbeing, something I never expected anyone to do for me.

"How far does this path go?" asked IF, looking over her shoulder to the thick fog forming behind us. The ice started covering the walls, the ceiling, and even the unlit torches held from sconces on the wall. My fear made my heart pound in my chest as we walked onwards. Bill didn't say a word the whole way down and neither did I.

"I think I see something a little farther down," said Compa, keeping her oversized syringe on hand. I hoped her acid would be enough to melt whatever living ice cube we had to go up against. IF would be a key fighter in the battle, I could already see her fire spells saving our asses. Overdrive's explosive arrows could help out, but looking at Nepgear and I, we wouldn't be able to do much more than help dwindle it's health down.

We entered a completely frozen chamber, laden with ice even on the floors. Compa slid and fell on her rear as soon as her high-heeled boots touched the ice. Nepgear helped her up as we came to a frozen halt.

"Here we are." Bill said as he took his leave. In the back of the room was a large frozen throne with an icy skeleton of demonic origin sitting in it. In his hand was a long staff with an icy glowing sphere at the tip of it. Above his head was the name Earthshaker along with a red flashing skull before it, meaning that it's level was way above our own, something I already didn't like. One of it's eyes flashed like it was taking a peek at who was standing before him.

"Who dares disturb my slumber?" hissed the frozen voice of the Earthshaker.

"Dude, you weren't even asleep," shot back Overdrive. I elbowed him in the side to get him to shut up.

Nepgear struggled to get past the hesitation from encountering such a foe. She tried to ask with words hindered by the harsh cold, "Excuse us, but are the Earthshaker?"

"Yes, what is it you want of me?" asked the Earthshaker.

"We're looking for a Spark, the Spark of Joy to be exact," stated IF, stepping in to save Nepgear from having to talk in her frozen voice.

Earthshaker stopped talking for a moment, frightening me. I worried that we said something we shouldn't have, not that it would've mattered. We were going to have to kill him regardless. The Earthshaker sighed and said in a normal and slightly deep voice, "I can't keep talking like that man, I hate doin' that."

I gave a raised brow and whispered in Overdrive's ear, "Did I miss something here?"

"I don't think so, but I think we're looking at a faux badass," whispered Overdrive in response.

"No you didn't miss anything dudes, I just talk like that to most adventurers so people don't bug me," said the Earthshaker. I still didn't feel any more at ease, no matter how relaxed the conversation got. I still kept Grindrix ready to kill at all moments.

"Well this just got really weird, really fast," commented IF, pulling her phone out and checking it for a brief moment before stowing it away yet again.

"So, is it alright if we have the Spark, Mr. Earthshaker?" asked Compa with a gentle voice.

The Earthshaker plucked the glowing sphere off his staff and threw it to Nepgear. She almost slipped and fell trying to hastily catch the sphere but she got it. "Yeah, you can have the damned thing. People keep coming here to bug me about it, so you can have it," said the Earthshaker, "By the way, just call me Xexima, that's my actual name."

"Thank you, Xexima!" thanked Nepgear, retrieving the Sparkholder and trying to plug the Spark of Joy inside. She tried and tried, but couldn't get it inside.

Nepgear gave an embarrassed smile and said, "It's got too much ice on it."

Four out of five of us in the party facepalmed.

"Let's get out to the warm then and try to melt the ice off of it then," stated IF, walking to the exit to the room. A glowing force field rose up fast, blocking our way out.

"I gave you the Spark for free, but you'll have to fight me to get out with it," smirked Xexima, standing up and cracking the ice on the floor as well. The ice crusted in his joints smashed and cracked as he moved around, icy dust raining down from his grand skeleton. Our team readied their weapons fast and stood their ground. My heart was racing and my knees were almost going to buckle.

Xexima laughed to himself and sat back down while lowering the force field, much to our surprise. He said, "Do you see my level, dudes? It'd be unfair to you to fight now, so I'll be waiting here as an optional boss for when you finish your campaign and get leveled up a bit."

"Let's get out of here before he starts another fake boss fight!" shouted IF, fleeing the room as fast as she could with the others in tow.

I stayed behind, working with my mind to form words instead of chilled whispers. "I hear you have a World Nerve as well, am I right?" I asked Xexima.

"Let me guess, you want one?" he answered my question with another question. I heaved a deep sigh and calmed myself. My brain didn't even notice that my legs were shaking fiercely. I nodded and prepared for a one-on-one fight with Xexima.

"Hmm, that's a pretty sick necklace you got, dude. I'll tell ya what, I'll trade you a world nerve for that necklace," Xexima made a harsh offer that would be hard for me to accept. My hands went to my necklace and rested on the front of it. I looked down at it and an image of my father came to my mind. I didn't even care that the thing was harshly cold, I kept my hands on it and debated on whether or not I wanted to trade off a memoir of my own father, one of the last I had of him. I needed that item though, I really did.

"Go ahead son..." whispered the icy wind, "Go ahead and trade..."

I closed my eyes and undid the hook to the necklace, then set it down in Xexima's cold skeletal hand. "Take good care of it, that thing means a lot to me." I said to him.

He harshly plucked a thick piece of his own spine out with a grunt and a crack, and handed it to me. "Don't worry dude, this thing's not leaving my neck bone," said Xexima, lacing it around his own neck. I could see the distant reflection of frozen torchlight gleaming off the silver front of the necklace.

Stowing the World Nerve in my inventory, I walked out of the room without an extra word said. The walk back to the rest of my group was cold and had me thinking about my decision. "It was for the best." I repeated to myself, assured that I had made the right decision.

"Where the hell have you been? We need to get moving," said IF.

"Sorry, I had something to discuss with Xexima. Let's go," I agreed with IF, following her lead to the entrance of the castle.

"Hey Cody, where'd your necklace go?" asked Compa, pointing to the pale, exposed skin of my neck.

"I stored it in my inventory. It was getting a little cold to wear," I lied with not a person suspecting me of anything. Nepgear gave me a look like she saw past me, but smiled and relieved me of worry. According to IF, we had to go west to get to the Phantom Valley, a place I wasn't too eager to go to. To make things worse, it was night out and the weather was even colder. My legs were shaking just from stepping close to the entrance.

"Come back soon!" Bill waved goodbye and shut the door behind us.

Compa gave me a potion to help with the cold, but I could see that she was running low on anti-freeze. My fear wouldn't go away and it started to play with my emotions. First I'd be pissed off that we had to trodge through the damned snow, then I'd almost burst into tears begging for the cold to stop. We came close to the giant frozen tree and saw it to already be stalked by Fenrisice.

"Damn, weren't we just here earlier? I really don't want to clean this place out again." complained Overdrive, drawing his crossbow and loading it.

"Pshh, you think the monsters care? Besides, it's good xp," replied IF, getting her claws ready. As soon as we were in sight, the Fenrisice looked over to us with their teeth bared, growling in a deep tone.

I looked over to Nepgear and said, "Do your best sister, and stay close."

She nodded and replied, "I will!"

We dove into battle headfirst with a determined will. I stayed back and kept Nepgear covered in case she got too far away or in case Overdrive decided to blow something up and trap someone again. I still wasn't too happy about him spontaneously blowing up that damned tree and trapping me in the snow. Nepgear did great and I felt a little better about staying behind because of the amount of smaller enemies that could've really hurt her if they hadn't been taken care of. With night blinding us some, it was frustrating to see our enemies at times. I could see less and less as the battle raged on and some clawed enemy slashed at my back. I shrugged off the pain and annihilated anything that was around me, fiercly protecting Nepgear in the process. My back stung and I could feel the cold air freezing the blood that tried to progress down my back.

The wind whipped around and blinded us with snow as the battle progressed. I wondered if there'd be a blizzard passing through soon at that rate. My fear still lingered, but the fight would occasionally keep my mind away from it while our troops hunted down any inhabitants of our future campsight.

"Is that all of them?" asked IF, approaching us near the barracks of the camp. A few icicles hung from the corners of the barracks, but other than that, it looked basically the same as it did before and looked ideal for a sleeping area.

"Yeah, I think we've got everything under control now," said Nepgear, going inside where the rest of our team waited. We kept our clothes on as we readied ourselves to sleep. Even with the door closed and a small heater on, it was still freezing in the cabin. At least it was for me. I still shivered and shook, my teeth furiously chattering and my legs numb again. My body was so sensitive to the cold that it was amazing to even myself.

I openly went to Compa and asked, "Do you have any more of that anti-freeze."

"Eheheh," Compa nervously chuckled, "I'm sorry Cody, but we don't have any left."

I wondered if it would be even possible for me to get sleep at all with the bitter cold wind seeping through the walls of the cabin. My veins were frozen, my blood slowly stopped flowing at some parts and my skin was white as a ghoul.

"Damn. Well thanks anyways," I sat down at the edge of my bed, my head hiding in my arms that rested on my legs. I thought I was going to cry, my life felt like it was slowly being drained from me, just like in Planeptune during that terrible winter. My fear drove me crazy, the cold drove me closer and closer to death, I couldn't take it anymore.

A soft, somewhat warm hand was draped over my back. I rose up and looked to my side at Nepgear.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked calmly.

"It's so cold," I paused and let a frigid tear fall down my cheek, "I hate it so damn much..."

She pulled me closer to her and hugged onto me. I was surprised and calmed at the same time, the smell of her perfume wafted into my nose and her body was warm enough to keep me from crying in fear of freezing to death.

"I want to help too!" said Compa, sitting on the opposite side of me and hugging onto me like Nepgear did. They kept me warm and slowly I started smiling, feeling a better by the minute as they held onto me. It was a good thing my body was basically numb, or the scratch marks on my back that nobody seemed to notice would be making me cry for sure.

IF sighed and said, "What the hell, why not?" then sat down behind behind me and wrapped her arms gently around my neck. At first I thought she was going to try and strangle the life out of me or something, but she instead helped try to keep me warm too. Even Overdrive chipped in and tried hugging onto me, something that turned the situation into an awkward one.

"You do know that this is really awkward, right?" I asked Overdrive with a pale voice.

"Yeah, so hurry up and get warm already so I can stop," he replied jokingly. I felt at ease, with my party, no, my family keeping me warm until I promptly passed out in the cold bed. I didn't even remember falling asleep, but I did.

/o_.+._o\

I woke up still cold but refreshed. Snow coated a little bit of the floor, probably blown in from a small crack in the woodwork of the cabin. The others were already up and ready to go, IF impatiently tapping her foot while checking her phone.

"Let's get going Code, we want to get out of here as fast as possible," said IF, putting up her phone and leading the group outside to the snowy campsite. Again there was no sun out, just a grey expanse of clouds that covered the sky. No enemies were around, which was good, but as I left the building, Compa finally noticed the scratch marks on my back.

"Cody! You should've told me you were hurt!" scolded Compa, getting a potion that very instant and forcing me to bend over so she could better see where to apply it.

IF smirked and said, "Code, you should know by now that if there's anything at all wrong with you, Compa will find it."

"Yeah, should've..." I stopped and gritted my teeth as Compa poured a stinging potion on my back. It felt more like acid than anything and somehow, I didn't think this was any kind of healing potion at all. The sizzling I could hear didn't denote anything positive, nothing but pain and rigidness overcoming my wound.

"Wait, was that the potion I was looking for?" Compa thought aloud, taking a close look at the vial she held in her hand.

"Are you expirimenting on me again? Dammit, what've I told you about me not being a lab rat?"

"No, not at all, I swear!" replied Compa. She retrieved another potion from her bag and trying the process again. She got it right that time, the pain in my back was fixed, but according to Overdrive, there was now a layer of glass where my skin should've been. Whatever kept my blood from spilling was fine by me, but Compa really needed to start labeling her potions.

Halfway to the crossroads we saw when we left Lowee, a man with a ton of heavy clothing and traveling gear walked up to us, sounding like he was half dying and mentally traumatized.

"Who the hell are you?" IF asked the sturdy man.

"I'm Eric Simon and I'm trying to find my brother that went missing up this way while he was hired to find a relic of great importance. Do you know where he is?" asked Eric.

"Yeah, just keep going east of here and you'll get to a crossroad. When you get there, follow the sign that says Super Secret Boss. Keep following that road and you'll find him" explained IF, pointing off to a general direction that I guessed to be east.

"Thank you so much!" thanked Eric, running off ahead of us at a rather quick speed. It looked like some sort of spirit was following him, weaving in and out of the trees. He looked behind him just as the spectre was going to attack and made a strange gesture that completely banished the spirit.

Once the man was out of sight, Compa scolded IF. "Iffy, you just sent some poor man to his death!"

"Hehe, it was pretty funny though," replied IF, making the best of the situation. Compa shrugged and Nepgear and I giggled.

Overdrive, with smirk and snark, said, "I'm beginning to question if your moral compass still works.

"It's out for lunch right now," replied IF.

The rest of our trek through the forest of icy, dead trees was generally uneventful up until we neared the crossroads from before. When we stopped to take another look at the signpost, a strange man come running up to us with his head cocked to the side while he ran. All he wore was a white shirt, white shorts, and red hat. In his hand was a flag and in the other hand was a letter.

"Are you Nepgear's party?" asked the man. IF and Overdrive were trying not to laugh at the ridiculous looking man. Nepgear confirmed that we were the people he was looking for. "I've got a message for you from one called Gust! Here you go," He handed the letter to us and ran off with his head still cocked to the side for some strange reason.

As soon as he was out of range, IF and Overdrive both laughed aloud at the weird little mailman.

"He looked like he was braindead or something!" laughed IF.

"He did too, that had to have been the weirdest person I've seen in years," added Overdrive.

"Guys," I got their attention, "be nice to the poor man, he was probably just another one of Compa's failed lab expiriments."

"Cody!" Compa scolded me by giving me a light love-tap on the head. IF and Overdrive laughed even harder, to the point of almost walking the wrong way as they led us. Nepgear, on the other hand, calmly read the letter that was nothing more than Gust advertising her new "low" prices that were likely still as high as ever.

"Why didn't she just email you or IF?" I asked, snatching the letter from Nepgear and reading over it.

Nepgear briefly explained, "It said the servers were down and she couldn't get them up herself."

We continued to walk and talk to each other along our icy road, paying no mind to the inhabitant of the forest if they paid no mind to us. It was mainly the weird-ass rabbits that were around, but after Overdrive and I messed up thier ranks twice, I didn't think they had any intentions of approaching us.

"Uh, we have a problem..." pointed out Overdrive, his finger aimed at a large mass of ice before us that looked like it extended for miles. The tips were pointed and it didn't look like there was anything we could use to climb over it. Right before the glacier there was even a sign that said "Glacier Crossing".

"Well," IF paused and gave a frustrated expression, "Now what?"

I stuck my hands in my pocket and looked up at the pointed glacier. I felt something in my pocket, something stick-like. It was in my interior pocket, leading me to briefly unzip my jacket and feel inside of it. I pulled out that green time-travel pen I found in Lowee that I had completely forgotten about. Smirking, I said to myself, "Here's the solution."

I walked up to the glacier and drew a wide circle, a green vapor trail following my motions. Once the circle was complete, a grey portal opened up. I poked my head inside to see just what I wanted to see. A clear road with no glacier.

"Code, what is that?" asked IF.

"It looks like a portal to somewhere," Nepgear said, curiosity piqued.

I retracted my head from the grey portal for a moment and said, "It's time travel guys, now hurry up and follow me before the portal closes."

I dove into the portal and one-by-one the others followed me in. The atmosphere felt the same but the forest looked much different other than there being no glacier around. There were a lot of pink trees everywhere. Somehow, there was a tint of difference. Something felt weird about the place that I couldn't put my finger on. We walked the road for a while with no signs of life other than us.

"Is it just me, or does this place seem a little off?" asked IF.

"Something doesn't feel right," complied Nepgear. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a paper drift through the calmer winds of the forest, landing near Nepgear's foot. She picked it up and let her eyes zoom through the paper's contents. It was a schedule for meetings with the CPU, Lady White Heart. Nepgear's eyes widened as she read the paper.

"The CPUs, they're here guys!" said Nepgear, her heart filled with joy.

"Really?" asked IF, looking at the paper with her. Compa's expression was grim, for she knew what Nepgear was thinking. Nepgear wanted to stay there and see her sister, but it couldn't be allowed.

"That's nice, now come on Nepgear," I motioned for her to keep following, but she stayed where she was.

Nepgear, trapped in her yearnings, cheered softly, "We could go to Planeptune in this universe, I could see Neptune again..."

"I'm sorry sister, but we can't stay here. We're already screwing with the natural time flow as it is, we can't stay here," I said to Nepgear. She didn't even hear me.

"Ge-Ge, we gotta go. We're in a place we shouldn't be in and who knows if the other CPUs are even still here," said Compa.

"Even if we did stay here, time would just repeat itself into the future we're trying to save," added IF. Nepgear looked up at her friends that motioned for her to come. As much as she didn't want to go, she was forced to submit. In her mind, IF and the others were right, time was being messed with and even going to go see her sister could mess up reality in terrible ways.

"Okay, I've gotta ask, how the hell are we actually here in the past?" asked Overdrive.

"Magic is sustained in our bodies to keep us in a physical transitional form here in the past. Magic can transition between time, but humans and creatures can't," explained Compa. Our whole group stared at her in amazement that she knew that.

"Compa, how do you-"

Compa cut IF short and said, "Like my grandpa always said, 'Always be prepared to explain the hows and whys'."

We kept walking til we thought we were past the glacier that would be present in the future. I conjured up another portal and we stepped through into the future, the glacier a ways behind us and the gateway to the Phantom Valley before us. I was immediately chilled by the still snowy forests of future Gamindustry. It wasn't long though before we could step onto the dirt of the Phantom Valley. Already I could see spirits of the dead drifting around and a blood red sun shining bright above us.

"Reality doesn't seem like it's in check here either," commented Overdrive.

"It isn't."


	14. Shine in the Darkness

The soil was a reddish color and was overly dusty. Said dust was carried swiftly in the chilled and eerie winds that unsettled us. It felt desolate and lonely, but yet, every second spent in the Phantom Valley felt like someone or something was staring a hole in me.

"Something's not right here," Overdrive stated, holstering his crossbow.

Checking her phone for signal, IF agreed and said, "Damn right something's messed up here. This place is the leading cause for insanity in Gamindustry."

"Hey guys!" Compa pointed a short finger into the sky. "Look up there!"

Up in the skies cast an orange hue by the red moon, a silvery machine floated down. It had a silvery chrome finish, a label of black cursive writing on it's side, and was about the size of a small dog. IF's eyes widened and Overdrive took aim and was about to fire when IF thrusted her hand atop his bow and pushed it down.

"Don't fire! You'll screw up it's process!" IF spoke like Overdrive knew what she was talking about. Nepgear fell victim to the newly dubbed Capture Cam. The machine primed it's lens mounted as it's eye and began to digitize Nepgear. Once it was finished, it flew away as fast as it came.

Panicked as Nepgear's guardian, I quickly asked, "What the hell did it do to her?!"

"That was a Capture Cam, they help generate the-" IF was cut off by the ground shaking as it reformed and shifted to a new style. The once red sand became a hideous purple, as did the moon lingering above. Darkness radiated in the sky and the moon casted little light on the now purple land of dust and despair. Up in the moon's surface was a strange logo, one that looked bizaarely familiar.

Her eyes aimed in the sky, Compa asked, "Does that look like a robots face up there in the moon?"

"Yeah," Overdrive chuckled, "it kinda does."

"Is Nepgear ok?" I asked IF bluntly.

She nodded, earning a relieved sigh from me, and said, "It derezzed her temporarily to generate a terrain based on the darker side of her mind. In layman's terms, we're not going into a happy place."

"What a wonderful way to put it," I commented sarcastically.

IF looked over at at Compa and asked, "So, what do you think our survival rate is?"

Raising her head up and holding her hand to her chin in a thinking pose, Compa answered, "Around forty-three point three percent, repeating of course."

"Joy," said Overdrive sarcastically.

Up ahead was a diverge in the paths. Four paths split up, each one going somewhere different. I took a step forward, my foot plunging into a shallow puddle of purple water. The path I saw before me, one leading to a desolate and abandoned street, looked like it was meant for me to travel. It was like it beckoned for me to come.

Bluntly, and with a grim voice as well, I looked to the others and said, "As bad of an idea as it sounds, we should split up. We'll cover more ground that way."

Nobody felt like arguing. I think, in all honesty, we needed time away from each other for a while. I took my lonely road down the ruined street, not even looking back as I kept Grindrix's cold steel blade over my shoulder. IF took a canyon like path, Compa took a forested route of menacing dead trees, and Overdrive took a dark hallway into an abandoned factory. Our paths were set, but I knew for a fact that our minds weren't. Something was terribly wrong with the environment.

"Nepgear, what happened to you?" I thought aloud. I knew what she'd been through, but I never would've guessed that it had so much of an impact on her. Sure she made it seem like it was a problem that needed solving but what I was to encounter along my path through her own subconcious was beyond measure.

/o_.+._o\

Compa shivered and shook, not from the chilly winds whipping through the menacing forest of shadows, but from her profound fear. She knew something was off about the shrouded forest. Purple snow layered the soft earth and a faint whisper flew through the wind.

"They'll all just die..." the voice in her ear whispered as it was whisked away by the wind. "There's no point..."

That whisper sounded familiar but Compa couldn't place who it was. She couldn't even think straight. Suddenly, a quick set of footsteps darted around the edges of the forest. Darkness enshrouded the walls made of thick dead trees and snow drifts.

Her step wobbly, she drifted off to the side, near the edge of the path. Noises could be heard, noises that Compa wanted to pretend weren't real, despite the sound and the threat being quite real. Up ahead, at a fork in the road, a group of familiar girls waited. All of them were styled just like Nepgear, but their purple hair hung in front of their faces like they were possessed.

"Ge-Ge? What's wrong?" Compa whispered, slowly drawing back. Her shakey hands held onto her giant syringe in a death grip. Two of the three Nepgear dopplegangers vanished, leaving only one to walk forward. All three of them had swords in hand and soft crying could be heard beneath their concealing hair.

They walked forward, all three of them trodging through the empty purple snow. Compa wanted to flee, but a feeling of despair washed over her, like a cloud of purple rain floated above her head. Trapped and unable to move, she couldn't even shield her eyes, gazing at her captor. Standing before her were the three weeping apparitions, vanishing into the wind without a trace.

Compa knew it wasn't going to be as easy as just waiting for them to go away. If that was the case, Nepgear wouldn't be in the situation she was in. She still had much way to go, and that path ahead of her wasn't going to be easy. The dead trees hung their branches over her menacingly and occasionally it felt like they were the ones whispering the sorrowful words in her ear.

"What's the point? Nothing can be done..." the wind whispered

"What if," Compa paused, stopping her walk through the forest, "What if it really isn't worth it?"

Compa took the thought seriously until another thought entered her mind. She put on a cheery smile and said, "Better not to know, it's more fun this way."

Upon finishing that sentence, she realized she was walking too close to the edge of the path again, nearing the shrouded darkness the trees made. She assumed it was more dopplegangers but that wasn't the case. A noise broke the silence, a footstep to be exact. Compa knew what lurked in the forest wasn't a doppleganger, it was something much worse.

Then, a dreadful weeping came up from behind Compa, pushing her into the shadows of the damned...

/o_.+._o\

Overdrive's path wasn't as hard as he'd thought it would be. Walking down the derelict halls of an abandoned factory wasn't as creepy as he'd thought. Other than the labyrinthine structure of the decaying factory halls, the only negative to the place was its darkness. A thick darkness concealed the failing machinery and spilt oil of the corridors.

Few lights went along the path, forcing Overdrive to resort to his auxillary flashlight. It didn't rely on batteries, but rather on him shaking the kinetic motor inside of it.

"Heh, who need batteries?" jested Overdrive using the light from the flashlight to cut through the darkness. Steam spurted out of a nearby pipe right in front of Overdrive's face, making him jump a little. He stood back until it stopped, letting his calm and cool demeanor slow his heart rate.

Rust overtook the walls and vines and plants slowly consumed the bent metal walls of the factory. Broken wire fences were collapsed on machines that failed to function and clanking noises sounded off further down the way. Taking the more positive mindset, Overdrive just assumed it was some machines breaking down.

"You really can't do it, don't bother fooling yourself..." A whisper pushed it's way through the sounds of spouting steam and breaking machine to enter Overdrive's ears with a dark and hurtful impact.

Overdrive's eyes widened as he pieced together what he had just heard. "No way..."

"You are so weak, you can't do anything," the voice whispered again.

"Nepgear?" Overdrive sharply whispered, his heart skipping beats, "What the hell is she talking about?"

"Just don't bother..."

"I'm not giving up on my teammates. Never," Overdrive solemnly swore, taking more steps forward. A sharp scream thundered down the hall at a supersonic speed. Overdrive didn't even have the time to close his ears, being forced to take in the blunt of the sonic assault. His ears rang after the scream finished, but he fought through it, moving down the hallway with his crossbow in hand.

Broken machines clicked and sputtered, steam would go so far as to break the pipes containing them, and sometimes out of the corner of his eye, Overdrive could swear he seen movement out of the corner of his eye. His flashlight died again and he had to shut it off and recharge it, shaking it vigerously. It hit something as he was shaking it, something solid. Overdrive stopped what he was doing immediately, but found that his hand would only vibrate. "This isn't good. This really isn't good."

With a quick motion, Overdrive looked behind him with the flashlight pointed at what he hit. Greeted by the grinding of aged gears and haunting spasms of movement, a decaying, metallic replica of Nepgear shifted in bouts of locking movement towards Overdrive, thrashing his side with a harsh slam. His first instinct was to run, not even considering a fight with the horrific mechanical doll.

"You can't escape," the whispers told him. He rapidly turned back around and darted down the halls, slamming into the walls and tripping over machines and rusty pipes. The replica was hot on his tail, following him even through the pitch-black darkness. Finally, Overdrive could see a light at the end of the tunnel. His heart raced and his mind was shaken as he sprinted for the light. Suddenly, he felt himself flying through the air and hitting the metal floor that was laced with rust and vines, his crossbow flying far away. The light illuminated the machine's jagged movements as it hobbled quickly to Overdrive. Fear making his feet stumble, Overdrive tried to crawl away, the eerie light pouring in illuminating him little by little.

At the last second, a metal door slammed shut, descending from it's rusty slot to block off the eerie machination. Overdrive's heart wouldn't stop beating and pumping, and in the depths of his mind, he ran the situation through til it was drier than the metal he sat on. He knew firing any kind of arrow wouldn't do squat and an explosive arrow in that closed in of an area would kill him on the spot. All he could do was run.

He looked over his shoulder, examining the strange and warped room. Wires hung from the distant ceiling as a pale violet light poured in through the broken windows. The floors were torn up by the dark earth cutting inside and the walls were rusty and tinged with age. In some of the areas of the room, there were gaming cabinets, like you'd see in an arcade. They all were crushed and broken in some way, but on some you could read the title, "Polybias"

Going for his crossbow, he stood up and bent down to pick it up. On touching his favorite bow, a grinding noise startled him. It was right in front of him, a rusty and broken grinding noise. A rigid-moving compilation of living gears amassed into a creature that walked towards Overdrive with a jerky gait. He raised his crossbow up and aimed at the creature, only to get paddled by another one that amassed near his side. It swatted him to the floor and left a wicked bruise on the top of his hand.

"Bastard," Overdrive winced as he primed his crossbow once more, aiming it at the Ancient Cog farthest from him. Just about ready to fire, the other Ancient Cog greeted him, no more than a foot away. Quickly jumping back, Overdrive had to make distance before he could even think of firing. He didn't even want to attempt hand-to-hand combat with the other Ancient Cog. It was rusty, but Overdrive knew it wouldn't help to punch it.

The whispers drifted to him once again through the wind circulating out of the broken window, telling him, "Don't bother, you're going to fail..."

Overdrive gritted his teeth and shouted, "I'm not going to fail!"

It took one shot. One fatal shot to ruin the Ancient Cog. With the farthest one taken care of, Overdrive went to reach for another arrow, wading through empty, dusty air before realizing that his ammo pouch was gone. "Dammit! Now what?" shouted Overdrive. The Ancient Cog grew closer and closer, reminding him of that rigid doll that attacked him earlier. Tension flooded Overdrive as he wheeled away from the Ancient Cog, looking around for something to use.

Picking up a slender shard of rusty steel, he hastily shoved it into the loading area of his crossbow and prayed that it would still shoot. With the machine closing in on him, he fired. Heart racing, he looked at the stopped machine as it fell to the ground. He was glad he was done fighting for the moment, but he knew there'd be more. "This isn't good, not good at all," he whispered to himself, taking a quick look around for the way forward. Walking into a walled off room of storage containers, he saw a broken down door leading into a shadowy hallway. Unfortunately, the only way to get up was by walking up the broken stairs. The beginning of the staircase was broken to hell and Overdrive was just barely out of reach of jumping up.

"I already hate this damned place..." Overdrive whispered to himself, walking up to a large storage container, like the kind that are loaded onto boats. He tried to jump and get up but he could reach, it was too high up. Most anything around him was either close to falling apart or half buried.

Sighing to himself, he whispered under his breath, "Where's double jump when you actually need it?"

He came across another Polybias cabinets. Something about it wasn't right at all. The malice the machine vented drove Overdrive away from it. He had no intention of even trying to make the broken machine into a platform. He doubted if he'd be able to lift it anyways. He turned away from it and immediately heard a bizaare rattling coming from behind him. Nervous, Overdrive hesitated in taking another step forward. Slowly edging himself away from the fading rattling, he told himself, "Focus. Focus on the objective."

While searching for something to use as a platform, he also kept his eye open for anything he could shove in his crossbow that he might be able to shoot with. Off in the corner of the room, he noticed a small strange cube that looked like something out of an laboratory. He picked one up and found it to be surprisingly heavy. What was worse was that it smelled terrible, like rotting flesh. Regardless, he saw it as a way to get up the broken staircase. He put it down for the moment to let his arm rest, taking a deep breath. It was hard for him to breath and his head was growing a little foggy, making it hard for him to focus. He reached down for the crate, stopping halfway when he heard a wicked crackling sound from behind him. It sounded like breaking plastic and electricity zapping around wildly. Quickly turning around, he saw the weird Polybias cabinet make itself into a metal spider, crawling along the walls and getting ready to strike at Overdrive.

To his luck, there was a nearby storage crate pried open by the forceful vines encompassing it. He quickly ducked inside, a plate of dust scattering upon his passing. Inside were a large shipment of the weird boxes that smelled like meat. Outside, the spider scurried frantically around the top of the container. The crate's entrance began to sink as metal foundations broke apart. Looking into the crate was a spider-like head made of chipped metal and scratched circuitboards. Nothing to shoot it with, Overdrive stowed away his crossbow, backing up slowly into the depths of the container.

The spider left its post, and in that time, Overdrive scrambled to find something to shove into his crossbow. "I'm getting real sick of this!" he shouted, turning around to look at the back of the container. A soft, luminous glow in the back illuminated a pathway, like someone was trying to run away from something. He walked back to the very back of the container where the smell of rotting flesh got thicker and thicker. In the back, written in blood, was the phrase, "Shall I hold your hand?"

And right underneat that, laying limp on the ground, was the Nepgear replica, one of its blank, purple eyes looking directly up at Overdrive with a hateful gaze. Before he could even think about turning around, the replica leapt up with its jerky, crooked movements and grabbed onto both of Overdrive's hands, crushing them with a bone-snapping noise. Overdrive shouted in pain before forcing away the doll. The only part of his hands that wasn't mangled to misuse were his thumbs. He tried to throw some of the heavy crates in the doll's way, creating a makeshift barricade for a brief moment. The rattling outside marked the return of the spider, leaving Overdrive between a rock and a hard place.

"Dammit, what do I do, what do I do?"

/o_.+._o\

IF didn't like canyons, but that was only when she was standing up on top of them. She always had that weird feeling like she was going to fall into the dark and dry depths below. But since she was already at the bottom, she didn't have to worry about falling. Instead, she worried about the rocks falling down and crushing her.

Taking a deep breath, she told herself, "It's for Gear, she needs this."

A gust of dusty wind flew into her mouth as she took her deep breath, swearing to herself amidst choking on dried up dirt and debris. The rock walls towered over her and blocked out half of the pale purple moon. It was somewhat relaxing, but yet it wasn't. It was just her, only her walking down the vapid stretch of canyon floor. The rock walls looked suspiciously like gravestones, in shape and texture.

"Don't let them die..." a whisper buzzed through IF's ear.

A shiver went down her spine, but she denied the whisper having any sort of effect, claiming it to be a figment of her imagination. Stepping up and over a setup of rocks, IF noticed that there were strange pyramid-like structures made of tightly packed cubes of rock. The rocks were squared off in the exact shape of a cube, something IF found to be unusual.

"Does Nepgear usually think in 8-bit? I thought Compa was supposed to be the simple one," IF asked herself, examining the low-resolution blocks. A quick grumbling noise drew IF's attention to the cliffs hanging precariously above. A couple little pebbles dropped down quickly, tapping IF lightly on the face as a harbinger of what was to come. Quickly dashing out from under the cliff, IF watched as the rocks above tumbled down and crashed with a mighty sound and an earth-shattering shockwave that destroyed one of the little pyramids.

Dust scattered and already settling, IF tried to keep her distance from the sides of the canyon. The rocks already were hanging loosely over the edge and it wouldn't take much to cause a rocky collapse.

A whisper in the wind said to IF, "If they die, so do you..."

There was a shaking noise all around, making IF's ears ring and her head hurt. In the mix of terrible sounds and noises, she could hear the whispers growing louder and louder. She winced, closing her eyes. Suddenly, the noises stopped dead.

"Rise."

That voice was more cold and ghastly than any ghost could've spawned. The only thing IF could do was look up. She knew standing around wasn't going to get her to the end any faster. Standing before her was a floating figure dressed in black with a black hood blocking out his skeletal face. In his hands was a grand scythe set to deal massive damage. It loomed over her with it's soul-collecting gaze aimed at her green eyes. She dropped her claws down and prepared for combat with the Grim Reaper himself.

Slashing and furiously cutting at the spectre, it just weaved and dodged out of the way. Like it wasn't even there. The reaper dropped it's scythe down mere centimeters from IF's foot. A fear like no other paralyzed her as she accidentally gazed up to it's eyes, it's soulless black eyes. A cold chill ran through her blood.

"Need to move, need to move now!" IF told herself, pushing past the fear to attack. She kept trying to hit it, but all her attacks would just phase through. Ducking and dodging its fierce scythe attacks, she was losing air and energy at a fast rate. When she wasn't paralyzed by the reaper's dark gaze, she was trying to recover from another near-miss scythe attack. Her fire magic did nothing to it and her claws couldn't even touch it.

Tripping over herself, IF smacked the dusty ground and couldn't get the energy or AP to recover. The reaper stood over her with it's dark eyes, a ghostly cold emanating from it's legless cloak. Hovering in the air, it laughed at her in a dark voice and vanished. Her heart pounding and her energy very slowly returning, IF stood back up and dusted off her jacket. Not even bothering to question why the reaper suddenly vanished, IF kept moving forward, watching the canyon walls around her in case more boulders should fall. More of the cube pyramids dotted the path and IF, when she wasn't staring up at the top of the canyon walls, traversed up and around them. But all while she was observing the walls above her, she had the feeling that something was observing her.

Squinting her eyes, she thought she saw something up atop the canyon walls that towered over her. They looked like shadows, black in color and humanoid shaped. She could make out holes where their eyes should've been and little arms as well. They were just watching her, staring a hole through her. It was unsettling, if not terrifying.

"What do you want?" IF shouted up to them. No response.

"Why are you here?" she shouted again. Still no response.

They just watched her no matter what question she asked. They didn't respond to anything, just watching her with blank eyes.

"Let the...shadow people of whatever valley do what they want. I don't give a damn a-anymore..." IF said to herself. She couldn't shake off the creepiness, but moved on anyways, walking forward with every step scattering long-forgotten dust. A laugh penetrated the dark silence, the same dark laugh the reaper made. She wondered if the strange shadow people were actually reapers, like the one she just fought. Something was off about them, that was for sure. They served no purpose, she couldn't reach or communicate with them, all they did was watch her, like they were observing or judging her.

A ways forward, there was a bizaare circle of small gravestones. She walked up to it, a series of chills flowing through her spine. Even fire magic couldn't ward off the cold chill that embodied the air. The gravestones all had names etched in them, names of her friends.

"Compa, Code, Neptune..." IF read off the names with a quiet voice shooken up with fear. "It's just another trick. That's all it is," IF shook her head and walked forward, only to be sent reeling back as a massive collapse of jagged rocks sealed up the passage before her. There was no way she'd be able to climb up without dealing massive damage upon herself. In a small gap between rocks, she thought she could see two blocky, white eyes watching her. She blinked and the eyes were gone.

IF knew it, she was being stalked. The fear of something unknown just watching her and stalking her was unlike anything she'd ever experienced. Not even her terrible fear of clowns shook her up as much as the stalking did.

"I wish we could've helped you sooner, Nepgear. I didn't know it was this bad," thought IF aloud, looking around for any sort of way past the rocks. Off to the side was a strange path way dug into the side of the rock wall.

Looking at the extremely smoothed out path, IF commented, "You'd need one helluva pickaxe to mine like this..."

/o_.+._o\

I walked a lonely road down through the lanes of a destroyed Planeptune. The only company I had was Grindrix resting on my shoulder. A dark purple light from the moon above bathed the streets in a luminous purple tone. So many ill emotions rushed in and out of me. Fear, despair, unconfidence, they formed into a blinking symphony of ill emotion that trailed me around like a gloomy rain cloud.

When I wasn't searching for some strange noise that entered my ears, I was working my way around all the debris scattered around. Ruined buildings had fallen and scattered aged dust all around. Windows were shattered, doors broken, poles bent and disfigured, all with a feeling of desolation and abandonment and, strangely enough, guilt. I could feel it just like it was a soft warm breath hitting my neck.

In the distance, I could see a figure, a purple one at that. It vanished and reappeared on the broken edge of a towering building. I quickly looked at it and knew what was going to happen.

"I won't get ziplocked up so easily..." Neptune whispered without her lips making a move. Her voice was carried on the sorrowful winds dashing through the dead city. I kept focused, I needed to find the end of the city and do whatever was needed to purge Nepgear of the haunting visions.

She whispered again, "Let's get this over with..."

With that sentence said, she vanished.

Stepping through the rubble and wreckage of a city fallen into dismay, I could hear whispers in my ears, incomprehensable ones. Some giggles and laughter accompanied them, some eating noises as well. I slid my headphones on and tried to turn on my music, only getting a static noise in return. Forced to brave it out, my feet hastened, moving through the field of ruin a little faster. A flash of light forced me to close my eyes as an image of the real Planeptune filled my mind.

I saw a vision of Neptune with Nepgear, both of them smiling and talking to each other. The vision ended, I tried to take another step and another image flashed into my mind, one aimed at the large TV embedded on a building side. It showed Nepgear and Neptune singing a song together in some sort of promotional video for Planeptune. Another vision over with, I made haste to keep my movement going.

My foot stopped when I almost stepped on a little purple device that was short-circuiting on the ground. I picked it up and dusted it off, looking at the cracked screen of Nepgear's N-Gear. It didn't respond to any button presses and instead kept trying to show a sort of cutscene on it. I couldn't make out what any of it was saying though, it was too distorted to make any sense of. The audio clip kept repeating itself for a few more seconds, then shut off permanantly.

Tossing aside the broken memory, I looked back up to see a ghastly figure in the distance. It looked like a more mature and baroque version of Nepgear when she was transformed. As the figure approached, I could make out long pink hair and pale skin. She had large, black wings styled like some kind of elegant, demonic machine. Along with that, I could also make out a long and vicious-looking scythe in her hands. I took up Grindrix in both hands and readied myself. The ominous figure stood before me with a hateful expression.

"For the sake..." The woman started, holding her scythe in both hands, "of our goddess..."

She rushed towards me, her feet not even touching the ground. Hovering through the air, she flung her scythe around with ease. I'd parry her attacks with Grindrix when I could, but she was getting dangerously close to hitting me. Having enough AP, I initiated Shieldspin, holding out Grindrix and letting go. It spun into a defensive shield that was lucky enough to net her scythe in the spin and rip it out of her hands, tossing it aside.

Wearing just a pissed off expression, the woman held out her hand and caught Grindrix during it's spin. I was dumbfounded, eyes widened and my mouth hanging open. Her strength had to be insane to catch Grindrix midspin. All I could do was stand amazed as she gripped Grindrix's handle and flung it to the side, rushing to retrieve her scythe. I rushed the other way to retrieve Grindrix. My breath fading away, I had only enough power left to transform Grindrix to her secondary rifle form. Taking aim, I fired away at the woman.

At the last second, she held out her hand, an icy spell running from her fingertips. My bullets were stopped dead at her will and she quickly bursted towards me, scythe ready to strike. I parried her attack with the Shredrix's stock and then bashed her face in using Shredrix as a club.

"Is that all?" The woman whispered, slicing down with her scythe, cutting through the cold air. Her blade pierced skin as it rode down my arm. A searing pain went through my arm as my cold blood started mixing with the even colder sweat that run down my body. I rolled to the side and fired at her exposed back, effectively pissing her off.

Her speed increased and she swung faster, launching a barrage of arm-bruising attacks that were painful to parry. When I wasn't being slashed at or being forced to parry, I'd fire a salvo of bullets at her, bullets that she'd usually freeze. Occasionally I'd whittle her health down some, but she was holding fast and cutting me up badly. Shredrix overheated and I was forced to transform her back to Grindrix. Melee wasn't something I wanted to be doing with such a powerful foe. She'd already left a dozen deep cuts on me while I tried to defend. A cold sweat poured down my face as I panted loudly. I couldn't take much more, not with the way things were going. I sincerely began to fear for my life. There was only one thing left I could think of that I could do to bring down the twisted mockery of CPU I fought with. I let my frustration and fear take hold for that brief moment, giving my all into my next move.

"I won't let Nepgear down!" I shouted in anger, taking advantage of an opening and jumping atop her shoulders. With a mighty leap, I threw down Grindrix to the floor and my favorite axe unleashed my favorite move, where I then shoved her down to the ground with it. Spinning wildly, the woman was forced into submission, her health bar drained as she was cut and chopped by Grindrix. Hitting the ground with a thud, I picked up Grindrix off the ground and loomed over her. Her wings sagged down and her thorny halo had fallen on the ground.

"Such power..." She said with a dark breath. I raised up Grindrix and was going to finish her off for good, when a familiar, voice echoed around me.

"I just stood there...letting them sacrifice themselves. They told me they'd be back..."

A pain infiltrated my chest, making it hard to breath. Instinctively I looked up, seeing a pale Nepgear standing before me. When I looked back down, that faux CPU was gone. In her place was a photo, one of Nepgear with all of the other CPUs and the previous ones as well. Right next to Nepgear was Neptune.

Then my eyes wandered down to the nasty gash on my arm. Soaked in blood and stinging in pain, I was surprised that my arm was even still moving. The worst part was that I knew that bitch wasn't powered up all the way. I couldn't say if it was just because she was a projection from Nepgear, but I knew the corrupted CPU wasn't even at half strength. I considered myself lucky. If she was at full power, she would've killed me. I only had one potion and was tempted to use it, but decided not to, hoping that my arm would heal on it's own. I walked down the streets with a slight limp. Slamming into the ground from such a height bruised my leg and it hurt a little to walk on it. The painful stinging in my arms was enough to make me sheath Grindrix on her holster on my back as I walked down the cracked streets.

The broken windows let in a little of the pale purple moonlight. All that was left in the buildings was darkness, a horrid darkness. It was like a corruption to end all corruptions had swept over the fair streets of Planeptune. I looked up to the purple night sky of decaying stars and purple moonlight asking why this had to happen to poor Nepgear. Or rather, why it happened at all. Something peculiar was happening while I was walking, something I didn't notice for quite a while of blind walking. The sky had suddenly turned a blood red mixed with clouds of dark dismay.

Looking back down, the scenery had changed without me even knowing, my feet stopping all movement forward. I was at the Gamindustry Graveyard, just like when I had to come to get the Sparkholder. Broken gaming consoles of days long since passed decayed in silence amongst the barren, wastelandish cliffs and plateaus. I took a single step into the new terrain and was met with a list of images plastered on the walls ahead. Every surface became a portal to Nepgear's haunting past.

The images faded away after a few steps into the dusty realm of desolation and abandonment. The land stretched as far as I could see, all of it dyed a rigid red color. A single path was laid out for me, one of no enemies, no bosses in sight, and certainly no other paths to follow. Taking a long, deep breath, I started walking, mentally bracing myself for the assault of horrid memories. The first of many shot out in no more than a few steps in. Melded into the walls ahead were eyes, colored black, white, green, and purple, directing their gaze at my approach. As cliche as it seemed, it was unnerving. They didn't fire any lasers or anything rediculous like that. They just stared.

"Believe in your big sis..." whispered the wind. Cast on the dirty floor was a picture of Nepgear fighting that strange woman before. Beside her was three other CPUs, beaten and broken.

The images would pop up on any solid surface they could, all being Nepgear's memories, both cherished and hated. Shadows would dance around the corners of the rocky expanses and the eyes still pierced me with their gazes.

Off in the distance was that aged joystick where the group and I fought Raiden for the Sparkholder. It still stood tall, if not decaying a little. Another image flashed into my mind, one of when I held Nepgear while she was crying, telling her my little hymn my parents taught me when I was young. That one good memory, that was the first of many I was to have with Nepgear. It sang out in my mind, warding off the other ill images and visions that tried to assault my mind.

"This angel inside, she still stays within me. She gives me bright wings to fly with and a light to hold onto. I'll love my angel forever and let her show me better times. Act with the will of the angel within, I am now that of the angel inside..."

I'd whisper that tune to myself to keep myself going, just as I was doing there and then. My mother sang that to me when I was very very young. How I still remembered it was well beyond me, but I could still hear her sing it loud and clear. I hoped that Nepgear, wherever she was in Phantom Valley, could hear me sing that tune. Still hoping she would be able to recover from her visions, I trekked onwards. There was only a single unblocked passage leading to a clearing of sorts. It looked like a battlefield and, as I'd expected, another figure waited to challenge me to a fight.

Hovering in the air was a strange humanoid bunny. It had four CPU-like wings and wore a strange dress. It wielded a double-sided spear and radiated a strange vibe of merciless slaughter.

"Annihilation...to all!"

/o_.+._o\

Compa knew she was in a bad place. The darkness of the outer forest was too difficult to see in, leading Compa to frantically skim the wall for an opening. The demonic neighing grew closer and closer. Compa would speed up every time she heard it, going from fearful to panicked in a hasty attempt to seek refuge in a brighter area. She had to have walked two miles before finding a clearing she could try to squeeze through. What lurked in the shadows quickly caught up with her, stomping its way toward her.

"Eep!" squealed Compa, forcing herself through the shallow crack that granted her respite from the dark depths of the forest. Looking behind her, two shallow eyes watched her crawl quickly away. Compa fled the edge of the forest, checking around her for any signs or markings. Not even sure of where to go, Compa picked a random direction and began walking, cautiously scanning the area for any movement. She didn't see any of the creepy Nepgear clones, but she anticipated that she wasn't rid of them just yet.

She trodged through the snow for about half a mile before the treeline opened up much wider, creating a scenic view of dead, lifeless trees in an all-too-familiar park. The waters of the gentle stream were frozen over, reflected the harsh, purple moonlight above. Dead trees lined the worn path of what once was Nepgear's favorite park.

"I remember this place," Compa said quietly to herself, tilting her head up to the sky, disobeying one of the golden rules of horror gaming. Purple rain began to fall from shuddering clouds. The rain, though small in drops, started to hurt just making contact with Compa's skin.

Quickly rushing for a cracked gazebo, Compa tried to cover her head with her hands to keep the rain from hurting as much. Stomping through the mushy, discolored snow, Compa kept her head low, but her eyes aimed up. Once inside, Compa held her head, moaning quietly, "Owie, that rain really hurts..."

Compa stood back up firmly, sheltered by her cracked gazebo that looked likely to fall to the rain at any minute. Chunks of brick and mortar were missing from the decorative centerpiece of the park. Looking at the railings of the gazebo, Compa noticed something shining, calling to her. Walking over, Compa saw an amethyst ring laid gently on the rail. She picked it up, admiring the craftiwork put into the little ring.

"Wait a minute...this is Nepgear's ring. It's the one Neptune gave her. What's this doing out here?"

While observing the ring, Compa could hear nearby breathing. Coupled with that was the sounds of weeping, someone crying nearby. Compa looked over, seeing one of the Nepgear clones crying her eyes out, doused in the purple rain. She didn't know whether to run from the clone or not, asking the clone hesitantly, "What's wrong?"

It whispered something to Compa. A quiet, sharp whisper.

"What?"

"Give it back..." it said, quietly.

"Give what back?"

"Give it back!" it shouted, jumping at Compa. Pinned to the ground by the enraged Nepgear, Compa dropped the ring just within hand's reach. Being held by the throat, unable to breath, Compa stretched her hand as far as she could to get the ring. Her pale fingers touched the metal and she quickly introduced the little ring to Nepgear. The Nepgear clone released its grip instantly, snatching the ring violently from Compa before retreating to the corner of the gazebo, crying loudly while clutching the ring to her chest.

Compa, wearing a disheartened expression, didn't have to ask to know what was wrong. She futily tried to cheer up the saddened girl, to no avail. The only thing she got in response was the harsh sound of crying that mingled with the purple pouring rain around. "Maybe she just needs some alone time," Compa said in conclusion. Bracing herself, Compa looked for some kind of landmark to mark the way forward, seeing nothing but an oddly shaped tower.

The problem was that the tower was past the treeline, shrouded by darkness. Compa, braced and ready, took off through the painful torrent. Drop upon dark drop fell on Compa, causing a rising pain while she dashed forward, closing in on the darkness of the treeline.

"They're all gone, what's the point?"

"They won't return..."

The whispers grew into voices echoing from the depths of the thickened forest. Not even the ever-quickening rain drowned out the voices. At the edge of the forest, Compa desperately looked for a large branch or something to shelter her from the rain, at least for a moment. The pain turned from a thumping on her head to an acid-like sting. Standing under a thin branch, she was veiled only slightly from the acidic rain. To make matters worse, the darkness resting beyond the treeline was absolute, making it difficult to tell tree from empty space. Compa hesitated to leave the shelter of the tree limb above, but she was eager to leave the hopeless path set before her.

"I can't see anything...I'll just have to guess where to go," Compa thought to herself, taking a soft jogging pace into the darkness. She was stopped short about five feet in, hitting a tree firmly with her head. "Ouch...that was a tree..."

From then on, Compa slowed her pace, forced to wander with her hands held out to feel for trees, aimed towards a very distant light ahead. The more she wandered, the more pain she felt, stabbed by the rain. Stumbling with the light ahead of her, Compa tripped over something, falling atop a darkened object. Feeling something odd on the object she tripped over, she picked it up, struggling to hold it aloft to use the close light to examine it.

"This is...Nep-Nep's sword? Well...that explains the weight issue. How did she even swing this?" said Compa, still hoisting up the heavy, detailed sword. She found that, for some reason, she couldn't let go of it. Struggling would just leave her even more tired, so she bore the weight of the sword, dragging it along the ground. Patience and hope running dry, Compa fought her way to the light, eager to leave the darkness.

Still dragging the sword, Compa escaped into the light, greeted by the haunting remains of a falling Basilicom. From what Compa could tell, it looked like Lowee's Basilicom, but the structure was so warped that she couldn't tell. And standing right at the doorway was another faux Nepgear, crying on the stairway. That clone looked sharply up at Compa, holding her sister's sacred blade, immediately shouting, "Give it back!"

Compa didn't hesitate to try and drop the blade before the imposter. Able to finally let go, the clone stopped just short of leaping to strangle Compa, grabbing furiously at the sword with tears flying down her snow-white face. Compa calmly backed away, letting her guard down for the moment. Gripping the purple blade tightly, the illusion of Nepgear turned the sword on herself, and in one fatal move, impaled herself on it, falling limp before Compa's shaking gaze.

Heart racing, unable to breath, and caught witnessing a horrific sight, Compa couldn't move or speak. Not even the rain could tear her eyes away from what she just saw. Compa shook her head and quickly assured herself, "It wasn't really Ge-Ge, I know it wasn't! No, she would never do that! It's just a trick, just a trick."

That didn't stop her from quickly fleeing into the decrepit Basilicom. Sheltered in part by the punctured roof, Compa quickly recollected herself, making sure she was calm before continuing into the ruined Basilicom. The once beautiful carpets were tattered and torn, and the supports lining the wall were cracked and exposed. Compa, with her composure questionable, wondered why her Ge-Ge would ever have such a dark place in her head.

Passing through the halls, that familiar sound of sorrowful weeping worked its way past the drowned out rain tapping the roof. Compa knew the drill, but questioned what memory it was that Nepgear's clone wanted next. A brief image of that fatal stabbing from before worked its way into Compa's memory making her shudder before banishing the memory once again.

The only pathway that wasn't demolished to the point of no travel was the way to the CPU's chamber. Assuming that the Basilicom indeed belonged to Lowee, or at least, the memory of the Basilicom, Compa knew where to go. The way was marked with broken statues and ripped paintings, resembling that of a 'spooky haunted mansion' as Compa thought of it. In the CPU's chamber, Compa immediately noticed the broken computer sitting in the middle of the room. She knew that wouldn't suffice, so she went to the bookshelf next.

Pulling out old books and tomes, Compa was able to spare a giggle, thinking aloud, "I remember Nepgear always sneaking off to read Blanc's stories." In the middle of the bookcase though was a familiar tome. Plucking it from its dusty home, Compa pulled out a picture album, filled with nostalgic memories of Nepgear and Neptune and all the other former CPUs playing and having fun together. Heading out of the room, holding the book in her hands, an odd kind of pain hurt in her chest, a pain she'd only rarely felt before. She knew it as the curse of reminiscing.

Trotting down a worn path, Compa arrived at the closed door leading to the sobbing. She hesitated in opening the door, her hand resting right above the rusty doorknob. Giving a firm breath of dusty air hidden by the tapping rain, Compa opened the door, staring directly at nothing. There wasn't anyone inside, Compa walking inside just to be sure. There wasn't anything but the sound of faint sobbing in the dimly lit room. Sitting down on a worn chair in the quaint, dark room, Compa looked through the picture album again.

"Alone. They're all gone..."

Compa, with a tear sliding down her cheek, said to herself, "I know Ge-Ge. I miss them too. I miss them a lot."  
>o_.+._o\

Overdrive put every ounce of force into one kick that shoved the Nepgear replica away, leaving it still the sparse amount of time it took for him to flee his rusty cage. With only one idea in mind, he abandoned the tampered thought of using the cubes to get up and move around. He ran straight for the rusty staircase, dodging the spider's rapid leap towards him.

Backed up into the wall, he met the gaze of the beast formed by a twisted metal gaming cabinet. The machine eyed him with broken glass eyes, oblivious to the Nepgear replica stumbling its way out of the crate. Shaking its abdomen, it readied for a leap, baring its razor-sharp fangs of rusted steel. In the split-second that Overdrive had to move out of the way, he spent half of the moment in hesitation. Never once had he been cornered so.

Barely dodging the leap, Overdrive used the beast as a platform to hastily jump up onto the broken stairwell, only getting half of his body up on the platform. Using his arms to drag him upward, the spider below had jumped and was trying to climb aboard Overdrive to snack on him as he tried to escape. It dug it's silicone fangs into his skin, scattering a trail a blood that steadily ran down his back. His energy fading quickly, his arms shook trying to hold him up on the groaning metal stair he clung to for dear life. Down below waited the broken replica of Nepgear, patiently begging for Overdrive to fall.

The only thing he could do was drop. And when he did, he made sure the spider cushioned his fall and flattened the replica below. The jolt from the impact knocked the breath out of Overdrive, but his back was free and he had enough loft to jump back up. Hastily expending the last of his energy, he dashed up without even looking behind him. Gasping for air, Overdrive immediately returned to his other problem. His fingers, bent at awkward angles, hurt with a pulsing pain. He knew there'd be no way to load his crossbow with that kind of damage, and he didn't have anything to heal with. Enduring the pain, he started walking down the darkened hall with a pained gait.

The pain surged through his veins as he tried to move. "Just keeps getting better and-" Overdrive stopped, the throbbing pain causing an immense pain in his abdomen. He had to find a safe place to rest, at least until he could catch his breath. Sitting down along the metal walls sheathed in darkness, Overdrive posed himself to look like he was dead in case any enemies wanted to come by and take a few quick jabs at him while he was down.

Creaking noises sounded off around Overdrive. Pipes would drop on the old floors and send a clanking noise down the halls that never seemed to go away. In the distance he could hear whispers searching for something or someone. Listening closely, he tried to hear what they were saying. Listening closer and closer, the whisper turned quickly into another scream that shot down the hallway like a sonic blast.

He was shaking uncontrollably and had to calm himself immediately, lest his guise falter. "Just keep calm and play dead. Not that hard. I'm capable, I know it," he said to himself, relaxed enough to keep up his charade as a dead body. Just in time too, for a squeaking noise closed in on his position. It neared his position, grinding softly and making uncoordinated steps towards him. Overdrive kept his eyes closed, not out of fear, but in case he accidentally made eye movement that would give him away.

It got as close as it could and Overdrive could tell it the replica again, somehow alive and caught up already. He wanted so much to try and get the jump on the one thing he feared most, but he knew he was in no shape to end the wandering of the haunting replica. Having little choice, he kept still until he was absolutely sure the coast was clear.

"Give up already! You're useless and not even gonna live much longer anyways..." said the once-whispering voice.

Overdrive gritted his teeth and kept moving. Another rattling noise came to his ears like a bee drawn to honey. Hidden amongst the broken machines and crushed gates was a cabinet of rust with a small padlock barely keeping it shut.

He looked at it with a tinge of fear. Hands almost to the handles before he knew it, he could almost feel the tension choking him. With a quick jerk, he pushed off the padlock and flung the cabinet doors open. Nothing was inside but an inky darkness and some rusty tools. He shut it tight and asked himself while continuing his brief walk, "Why am I wasting my time here?"

Further down the hall, he heard more squeaking, and more squeaking still. The noises turned themselves into a cascade of deafening noise as he struggled to figure out what to do. In the inky darkness, he could see the jerky silhouette of a familiar foe. Looking all around, his eyes were caught once again like a car stuck in mud. Focusing on the rusty cabinet, he ran towards it, his heart skipping beats as he ran as fast as he could. Once inside, he closed the door and held it shut, his eyes peering through small rusted out holes. He gritted his teeth tightly, finding it difficult to maintain the throbbing he felt in using his broken fingers.

Hiding from the silhouette, the creaking and groaning of mechanical parts grew louder and louder. Overdrive waited anxiously for the replica to appear in the dark holes made by the cabinet. Time slowed to a crawl and he was almost ready to close his eyes and fling open the door in an attempt of flight. There wasn't any fighting anymore. Tension pulled him back further and further, until he he tried to lean back agains the wall of the cabinet, instead falling into black void, not a breeze around to denote how fast he was falling. He couldn't see anything, and certainly didn't feel anything either.

A sudden jerk snapped his neck backward, causing a surge of pain to flow down his body, carried through his veins. Something wrapped itself around his limp body, binding him. With but a few scarce lights, he could tell he was in a Basilicom. He didn't know which one, and didn't care for that matter. Moving his head, the only thing that wasn't strapped down, he could see every person he held dear trapped in the same cord-like bindings, suffering as their life was drawn to a close.

And in the middle of the carpeted floor was the replica of Nepgear, decayed and ruined, standing with her single eye at Overdrive.

"How does it feel? Trapped, with no escape or power?"

"Let me out! Let me out now!" shouted Overdrive, raising his voice louder and louder, the pain in his body slowly robbing him of his strength. The more he struggled, the more he was sapped of his energy.

"You can't do anything..."

/o_.+._o\

The narrow tunnel, lit by only a few occasional torches, felt like it went on for miles. IF wondered if there even was an end to it. She hoped there was an end, she couldn't shake off the feeling that something was always behind her. Normally she wouldn't even care, but whatever had the resources to blow down an entire canyon wall in an attempt to kill her had to be of at least some danger. Getting wider and wider, the tunnel evolved quickly into an underground chamber. Worn-out minecart tracks wound around the room and decaying beams of wood just barely kept the cavern stable.

"Wonder if there are any gems left still?" IF wondered, wearing a slight smirk that quickly disappeared as she looked up to the corner of the cavern. A strange blocky man with pure white eyes was there for a second and then was gone from sight. IF blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't seeing anything. Assuming she didn't see anything, IF looked around for a ladder or something. She was high up on a cliff ledge and the only safe way down was by using the rusty minecart.

The steel of the minecart was warm to the touch. In fact, the whole room was warm and fuzzy. Already getting bad vibes, IF took a shaky arm and pushed the wall near her, making the minecart begin motion for the first time in a very long while. With a creak and a groan, she set sail.

Speeding along the failing track, the minecart quickly gained an alarming amount of speed as it twisted and winded along the way. The rusty tires screeched at some points, threatening to derail. IF shifted her weight to the sides to keep the cart grounded. It started to get hotter and hotter. She looked down over the side of the minecart to see that there was a large pit of lava directly below her. A luminous glow came from the hot lava below, lighting the cavern with an ominous glow.

In leaning over, IF accidentally gave too much weight to the side. The minecart started to lean precariously over the edge, threatening to spill her into the lava below. Sweating profusely, she hurried up and flung herself into the side to keep the minecart stable as it neared the bottom. There wasn't a moment of peace as IF constantly worked to assure her safe passage. She'd reached the bottom and the minecart was quickly shot into a stone wall.

IF had only a moment to brace herself for collision, fearing for her life. Waiting much too long, IF opened her eyes to see that she was going down a dark tunnel. Looking behind with her green eyes, the path behind her was completely cleared out.

"Ehehe..." IF nervously chuckled. The short tunnel grew darker the further away IF got from the lava cave. Slowing down little by little, the minecart hit it's stop in a small cave lit only by small torches. Darkness and shadow walked in the corners, dancing in the presence of the flickering torches. The next path was lit, but above it was a sign that IF had to squint to read as she exited the cart.

"You really shouldn't have come..." the sign read in blunt and blocky letters. She looked back down the thin tunnel where an eerie sight caught her eyes. The reaper from before floated further down the hall, its rigid scythe in hand. In its other hand, it held a familiar choker. It was hard to see but IF knew it was Compa's choker. The girl never left home without it.

"What'd you do to Compa?" IF asked angrily, letting her claws fall down out of her large sleeves. The reaper merely laughed and disappeared, letting the choker fall to the ground. In his wake, the cavern shook and rumbled. The minecart behind her was crushed by a falling boulder and IF would be next if she didn't move and fast. Rushing down the path where the reaper was, IF was closely chased by falling rocks and debris. She rolled forward to nab the choker that the reaper dropped. Holding it in her hands, eyes blankly staring down at it as she ran blindly down the path, the choker crumbled to dust, startling IF and making her slow down. The collapse was catching up fast and the falling boulders were nipping at her heels. Rolling forward, she took off down a corner where the collapse stopped. Taking a moment to try and catch her breath, IF looked up to see another cavern lit by strange luminous blocks. In the middle was a strange shrine-like set up. Six golden blocks surrounded a weird block of brick-like material in the center of it. Four torches burned on the sides of the shrine thing.

Upon further examination, it looked like something had been burning atop the brick-like material. Looking away from that, IF saw another sign put up on the eastern wall, written in blocky letters, "You're all I have left."

A shifting noise came from behind, alerting IF. She spun around to a little cove with a sunken in floor. Nothing was there, but the noise she heard behind her was more than audible. It sounded like someone was dragging their feet on the floor. IF walked over to the little nook and saw nothing but a single little bolt on the floor. Picking it up, she noticed it had adamantite tips. Only one person she knew even used archery.

Turning around, IF was greeted by Overdrive's crossbow leaned up against the wall, blood splattered across the crossbar. IF could see where to go next. There was another thin tunnel nearby, leading away from the lava cave she saw earlier. Before she left though, she checked her inventory to see how much room she had. Walking over to the shrine, she plucked two of the gold blocks and said to herself, "I don't think anyone's gonna mind if I take these and auction them off..."

IF quickly made haste away from the crime scene, down a hallway lit only by scarce torches. It looked like, along the walls, there had been a struggle. There were thick gashes down the wall, like a blade had cut through them. Torches were knocked down and extinguished and there was a lot of blood going down the walls. From what IF could tell, it was fresh blood. At the end of the tunnel was a light, a very bright one at that. Once she was near the end, something looked like it was watching her and waiting. Stopping suddenly and looking to the side, IF saw a very familiar battleaxe imbedded in the ground.

"He never leaves it behind..." IF whispered in a sullen tone.

She walked towards it and, had she not been paying any attention, would've fallen right down into a pit of lava. The sides were designed with not grips or holds, like someone tried to make a trap. She didn't need to be picking up the axe anyways, moving further down the right path and into a dimly lit room. Along the sides of a slim path were thousands of broken, drained Sharicite crystals.

Taking a nervous gulp, IF walked down the narrow stone path. Mesmerized by the crushed Sharicite, IF almost tripped and fell to her doom. Memories flashed of her brief rescuing of Nepgear years ago from the Gamindustry Graveyard. Every drained Sharicite she saw inspired a tinge of fear in her heart, bothering her the more she was forced to see the ever-abundant minerals of depleted faith. Off in the distance, the reaper watched her, its long black cloak easily seeable in the glowing room. An intense mix of hot and cold washed over IF as the reaper floated closer to her, closer and closer. Floating before her and radiating an aura of utter fear, the reaper brought its scythe up and flung it down before IF even had the time to move. Eyes shut tight, IF didn't even realize that the reaper that followed her around and stalked her was nothing more than a shade. It didn't exist and it couldn't hurt her, just as she couldn't hurt it.

"Remember, fear is just an illusion," the reaper said in a low whisper.

"I thought it was First Encounter Assault Recon?" asked IF.

"Don't question me," the reaper finished, disappearing into thin air.

IF took his words to heart, threw away her fear, and stepped into the purple portal. In a flash of purple light, IF was warped to the center chamber of a familiar Basilicom, decorated in green paint and neon lights. The walls of the room were corrupted with the drained Sharicite, rearing their ugly, crystaline heads from every corner available. A putrid odor of death came from around the dark corners, and a thick tension filled the air. Her head a little wobbly, IF wandered to the center of the room where a large, crumbling Sharicite rested quietly, drained of every ounce of power in it.

Beside was a simple note wrote in Nepgear's precise and clear handwriting that said, "I didn't want to lose anyone else..."

/o_.+._o\

"Annihilation my ass," I shot at the dying bunny girl that revealed itself to be Arfoire. I had her name, her face, everything memorized, for I wanted to know the true enemy well. For a memory, she screwed me up pretty badly. I needed to ingest my healing potion or I'd bleed out. Opening my inventory screen and downing my solvent, with every eerie organic surveillance camera in the next mile watching, I felt a wave of worry flow through me.

The dusty trail ahead was so bland that it was becoming suffocating. Beginning to doubt myself, I took my time moving forward through the blank and desolate plateau of the graveyard. So many relics to gaming history were left behind as mere shadows of what once was. It was saddening just to see so many things that used to bring joy shunned and tossed aside like trash.

The canyons around me twisted and turned like a rigid labrynth. I grew annoyed at how long it was taking to reach the end of the maze. Stepping near a demolished ruin of a building, I saw no other way forward than to venture through the ruined warehouse. I walked inside and examined some of the crates lying around, red dust settling on their tops and then leaving as quickly as they settled, blown away by the winds.

"AGES Mars? I remember this old thing. They were gonna be released but bad errors in the software stopped anyone from even seeing these things," I talked to myself, pulling open one of the crates. My hands slipped a few times in pulling out one of the tightly packed gaming consoles. Secretely putting it in my inventory, I looked up to see a purple eyeball staring right at me.

In humor, I looked at it and said bluntly, "Don't judge me. I have my needs."

Nothing else was inside that was of interest, just crates of the AGES Mars and a bunch of debris. Heading to the door leading out, I saw something yellow just out of the corner of my eye. I quickly turned my head to the side, my hand hovering near the door handle. Laying on the floor was a little yellow doll. I walked over to it, seeing that the little yellow doll was actually a very well known video game character. It looked like a fuzzy fox in design, but it had three tails instead of one.

Picking it up, I started talking to myself again, saying, "I remember this little guy. Trails, was it?"

Noticing the blood covering it's hands and back, my eyes widened as I said to myself, "Damn, what happened? Was this one of your dolls, Nepgear?"

I set the little guy aside on one of the crates and left the warehouse, feeling bad vibes coming from the little bloody doll. Stepping outside, the sheer cliffside ahead projected a painful memory warped back to the past in a vivid video-like recalling of what happened out in the graveyard. The CPU Candidates were reunited with their older sisters, along with Nepgear, who ran over to Neptune in a warm embrace.

"I'm sorry I left you alone for so long. But you know what? I'll always be with you from now on." said Neptune in a sincere and kind voice. Nepgear was in tears and I was smiling all the while. She was so happy to have her sister back, I could just see it. But sadly, I knew the words that Neptune had just said weren't true. The vision shattered with a bright flash, putting me out in the field once again. I could see the end of my path up ahead. it was the Planeptune Basilicom, I could see it from where I was. My fight was almost over.

Grindrix held over my shoulder, my eyes fixed on the Basilicom up ahead, I took off running. Vivid images of the long-gone CPUs cropped up one by one, deterring my path. I passed Blanc to my left, but what I heard was Nepgear's pained voice shouting, "They said they would be back!"

My head pounded as she said those words, but I kept going. My feet wouldn't fail me, still running forward at full speed. Coming up on my right was Noire, her gaze fixed on me, passing a spiteful blame.

"They said it was just the 'worst case scenario'!"

Again my head pounded. It threw me off balance, my legs running off to the side as my head took on a mental assault. Like spears were piercing my brain, I suffered a terrible series of thoughts forced into my brain. Passing the ill omen of Vert standing nearby, I braced myself.

"They said they wouldn't let themselves get sealed with her!"

Lastly was Neptune's ghost, watching me as I neared her, her dead eyes and blank expression gazing upon me, blaming me for what happened. My pace was slowed, but I was still at least jogging. Ready to run right through her, I knew what to prepare for.

"Nothing but lies!"

The pain wouldn't stop me from reaching my destination, no matter the trauma. No matter how much the glaring guilt inflicted injury on me, I wasn't about to stop just before the finish line. Pushing aside the ghost of Neptune, I shoved open the doors to the Basilicom, taking the doors off their hinges. Walking straight into the main chamber, dulled with dust and debris, face to face with Nepgear, wearing a pained expression.

"And I just let them go on without me. I was too weak, I could've helped if I was just stronger. It's my fault they're gone..."

/o_.+._o\

I wound up before a strange building that was a lot like the Basilicom that I last remembered being in. The only thing I could remember was Nepgear shouting something really sad at me before I passed out. When I came to, I was on the stairwell leading up to the decrepit Basilicom mockery that had a sign stationed just before it. Running up to it, I could see that the sign read, "Dementia Void."

"Great. It's likely brain damage in the form of a building," I whispered to myself, walking inside. I was warmly greeted by Compa, IF, and Overdrive, who seemed to be real enough for me to assume it was safe. IF was comforting Overdrive, and judging from the pale color on IF's face, she didn't go through anything better. Compa didn't seem too bothered, but her cheeks were red, like she'd been crying a lot.

"You okay, Cody?" asked Compa.

"Oh, nothing that a lifetime of therapy couldn't fix," I said nonchalantly, getting closer to Compa to ask her quietly, "You alright yourself? You look like you've been tearing up."

Compa put on her best smile and said, "I don't remember why, but according to Overdrive, when I wandered in here, I was reading an instruction manual and saying things to myself. I don't really know why I was crying, but something that happened was really sad."

I gave her a quick pat on the head and said, "Glad to see you're back to normal."

She kept up her smile and nodded firmly. I then walked over to Overdrive, who had his head in his hands, sitting on a metallic bench.

"Hey," I beckoned, to which Overdrive lifted his pale face, "what happened dude? You really don't look good."

IF, interjecting for him, said, "Unlike the rest of us, he remembered what happened on his trip. It...wasn't pretty."

"I never felt so helpless man. It was horrible, I had nothing that I could do, and that mechanical beast just wouldn't give up! There wasn't anything but failure, and frailty, and-"

I interjected quickly, putting an easy hand on his shoulder before telling him, "Easy man, everything's okay! You're alright, you're with your friends now. Okay?"

He hesitantly shook his head.

"Alright. We'll give you some space so you can calm down. Just say if you need us," IF stated, scooting away from him to give him space.

Away from Compa and Overdrive, I asked IF, "I take it you remember your journey too?"

"It wasn't much better than his, if that's what your asking," she retorted.

I looked over to the strange, sleeping pod thing that contained Nepgear. She rested with a smile, and in seeing it, it brought me an immense amount of hope. But when I turned back to IF and told her, "If you need someone, Compa and I are around."

"I-I'll be fine. It wasn't anything too bad. I think I'll be okay."

I knew she was lying, but that was the least of my concerns at the moment. I asked bluntly, "Do you know what this place is?"

"I've heard stories. It was once the Basilicom to a large, powerful landmass. Something like Retired, or Retardant, or something with tar in the name."

"Ghost Basilicom of a long-forgotten nation? How spooky," I said sarcastically.

"Hmph," finished IF.

I walked up to the sleeping pod, and, as I stood before it, it made a loud hissing noise tha tmade me jump back in fear. The pod opened up and woke up Nepgear.

"Good morning, sis," I greeted her, helping her down out of the pod.

Keeping her steady as well, Compa said to weary Nepgear, "Take your time Ge-Ge, who knows how long you've been sleeping!"

Nepgear chuckled and said, "I'm fine Compa, thank you though."

"You're sure your fine? Absolutely positive?" IF asked bluntly, helping Nepgear over to a nearby bench.

Nepgear energetically nodded her head and then yawned. She looked around and asked, "Are we still in the Phantom Valley?"

"Yeah, Gear. We're in one of the facilities here. We can move out if you want though," said IF.

Compa quickly shot to IF, "She's still recovering, Iffy! Give her some time and then we can get moving."

"Or, you know, I can just carry her," I offered. Everyone's gaze centered on me, and I didn't enjoy being under the spotlight. "It was...just a suggestion. T-The sooner we get out of here the better."

Nepgear smiled and said, "We're okay for now. Let's get going," She then stopped and asked, "Uh, where are we going exactly?"

I smiled and thought to myself, "Yup, that's the true and blue Nepgear alright. Just as airheaded as always."

"Our next destination is Leanbox, but we'll have to go through Trickstar. We'll hit Planeptune on the way over to Castlescape. Don't worry, we aren't far from the Trickstar border," IF explained, leading us out of the Dementia Void. Once outside, we were buffeted by the taste of dust and blinded by light. The inside of the Dementia Void was dark in comparison to the light of the orange skies. In the distance, I could actually see the border leading to Trickstar, the desert-like Phantom Valley quickly shifting to a jungle theme. Looking back at the Dementia Void, I could see the shade of Neptune sitting atop the ledge of the building, smiling and looking at me. She winked at me and I waved back with a smile before she vanished.

"Hey brother, who're you waving at?" asked Nepgear, walking up beside me.

I looked back over at her and said, "Nobody sis. C'mon let's get moving. Once we get to Planeptune, I'm gonna treat you to some ice cream or something. Anything you want..."


	15. A Man Chooses, A Slave Obeys

Just as usual, it was humid as hell in the jungle. I could practically taste the hot air buzzing around, taken that I wasn't swallowing misled bugs. I could smell my own sweat too, rancid in odor, but I wasn't about to mention it to anyone. Honestly, for all I knew, I was actually smelling Overdrive.

A distant alien cry could be heard penetrating the thick green leaves and underbrush. It sounded like a death scream.

"Things are really getting violent around here," said IF, still trying to get signal on her phones to let Histoire know we were coming back to Planeptune. The jungle brush mixed with the tall jungle trees made telecommunication next to impossible.

With a worried tone, Nepgear added, "It's because of all the competitiveness, isn't it?"

"Unfortunately, that couldn't be truer," Overdrive finished, watching one of those weird lava creatures skitter away.

In the far off distance, I could see a pair of monstrous creatures of lava and orange spots duking it out, shaking the ground and piercing the air with their shouts and roars. The thick jungle brush bounced off our clothes and skin, but it was so thick that it became a nuisance. As frustrating as it was, we had to keep moving. The natives were fighting constantly and if they wandered too close to us, we could easily get injured in the crossfire.

"Stop everyone," commanded IF. We waited for a few seconds to see what she was wanting us to stop about. "Does anyone else hear gunfire?"

I perked my ears up and so did the others. She was right, in the distance there was some gunfire.

Asking with a confused voice, Overdrive questioned, "That's odd. Who'd be firing guns around here?"

"As far as I know, nobody ever comes out this way," I added logically. Nepgear and Compa both agreed, helping me keep a trio of thick vines out of the way for the others to pass by.

"Uh, we've got a problem," said Nepgear, earning our immediate attention. She pointed to a clearing nearby. There were a few of those little monkeys with the bicycle helmets prowling about. They'd seen us, I could tell from their yellow light on their helmets. There were so many of us that we had no choice but to engage. I took a good grip on Grindrix, the other's getting a grip on their weapons.

Just before I could announce a charge, the monkey was interrupted as an exceptionally large lava creature swooped down and picked it up. Screaming wildly, the monkey was carried off.

"Poor monkey, we should've helped it!" said Compa loudly.

IF quickly shot back at her, "Keep it down! We don't want to attract any attention to ourselves."

Ignoring Compa's want to interfere with the wildlife, we continued moving through the dense jungle. Eventually, the heat became such a problem that I shed my hoodie to reveal the rarely seen shirt underneath.

"I think we're lost," Overdrive bluntly stated.

Up ahead, our leader, IF, stared idly at a tall jungle tree. Claws at the ready, she slowly traveled up the bark of the jungle tree. Slipping a few times, IF managed to perch herself on a tree branch.

"See anything?" asked Nepgear, trying not to shout.

With a hand shielding her eyes from the mercilessly shining sun, IF scouted the area for a second before giving us a report. "I can't see much other than where some fighting was. There's some huge...things out in the field but I don't think they'll be a problem. I think-"

IF was cut off as her tree shook violently. The flying lava creature that carried away the monkey earlier was back, aiming to capture IF next. It violently shook the tree, slamming into it and trying to get ahold of IF with it's sharp, insect-like claws.

"Open fire!" I shouted, summoning Shredrix and unleashing hell on the beast. Overdrive and Compa joined in, firing what they could at the beast. Screeching and shouting, its movements turned even more violent. IF was finally knocked down and sailing through the air with speed. Thinking fast, Nepgear moved in to catch her, risking an attack from the airbourne lava monster.

With a thick thud, Nepgear just barely caught IF. A few seconds later, we managed to chase off the beast. Nepgear let IF get back on her feet, a weariness surging through her and fading quickly.

"Okay, new rule, no climbing trees," said IF, holding her wobbly head.

Overdrive giggled and asked, "Didn't enjoy the ride, I take it?"

"Well, I'm not too fond of being tossed around like a rag doll." IF shot back with a stern tone.

Whispering in my ear, Overdrive crudely remarked, "That's what she said."

I knew that what he said was immature, but I couldn't help but to giggle. IF asked what I was laughing about, but I denied hearing anything. Giving me a quick stare of non-belief, she continued to lead the group through the thick jungle.

Along the way, sometime after climbing the tree, the gunfire from earlier had finally grew to a stop. Things grew so silent that we could hear each other breathing. It was unsettling to hear such silence. Temptations to move were gone completely and I could see clear as crystal that the others were the same.

Time slowed down as I saw a pair of red, glowing objects speeding towards us. My eyes widened and I had not the time to even shout. I quickly thrust myself to the ground, taking as many others with me as I could. The rockets roared by and exploded on a tree nearby, sending pieces of bark at us. Luckily nobody was hurt.

"Move people, move!" shouted Overdrive, taking off after helping us back up. Two more rockets whizzed past us as we ran from through the jungle battlefield. Bullets sped around like angry, supersonic hornets, tearing up the trees and leaves with ease. Grindrix, who rested on my shoulder, would occasionally block straying bullets and fling them elsewhere. Weaving through the harsh jungle, we found ourselves surrounded by the firefight.

Seconds ahead, a tree was blown down by a rocket's destructive force. IF and Overdrive, who were ahead, slid under it as it fell, while the rest of us leapt over it. In not even a second, a large mech that was silver in color marched before us with mighty footsteps. Its cockpit shrouded by an orange visor, it turned to the side a little as it noticed us, quickly pausing in shock. Stomping a mighty foot of steel, it aimed it's rockets at us and prepared to fire.

Nepgear, in her sense of mechanical admiration, glowed in her eyes at the sight of the towering machination. IF, quickly pulling away Nepgear, told her firmly, "No time to admire the machinery, we gotta go!"

"But, but, it was so cool!" replied Nepgear.

"You're gonna think cool when you get turned into a black smear on the ground," said Overdrive.

Compa and IF were up front, Overdrive and Nepgear following closely behind with me at the very back. I could see just barely up ahead, another mech was thundering through the jungle brush, Compa right in the way of it's foot!

Her mind being as quick as her blades, IF gave a burst of speed and leapt towards Compa. Once her hands met Compa's soft skin, inertia kept IF going and sent Compa to safety on the ground in front of the mech's path. The mech completely ignored us as we pushed through and Nepgear and I praised IF for saving Compa.

"Thank you for saving me Iffy!" said Compa with a sweet voice.

With a childish smirk, IF replied, "Yeah, it was nothing..."

I knew there was something else IF wanted to say and I smiled at realizing that. But I knew IF, she wasn't one to outright say what she was thinking unless it was of dire importance. Back on her feet, Compa pointed out an alcove that seemed fairly sheltered from the fight outside. We quickly made the turn to get to that grove in the distance. Sweat rolling down my face, I looked behind to see a pair of mech's aiming their rockets at us.

"Everyone get down!" I shouted up ahead, taking a dive to the ground. The rest of my group did the same, hitting the ground with a thud as a pair of rockets soared above us and off to the sides, away from the alcove.

Being the first to get up, Overdrive commanded, "Get inside the alcove! I'll cover us!"

One by one we entered the dry sheltered grove. Before I ventured inside, I rested my hand on Overdrive and nodded, letting him know that we were counting on him. He nodded back and signalled for me to go inside and take a breather. I needed it, I couldn't even keep Grindrix aloft. We panted and gasped for air while Overdrive let loose a storm of explosive arrows. Bullets peppered the back of the alcove, but the floors were sunken in, so we were safe for the moment. Even a rocket blast wouldn't near us. The mechs ceased to function and Overdrive joined us for a moment of relaxation. We all panted and sweated profusely, our bodies sore from the epic dash to safety.

"Well, there's my exercise for the day..." IF noted aloud, finally catching my breath again.

"By the time we're done adventuring, we'll never have to exercise again," Compa added innocently.

IF gave her a gentle giggle and said, "I don't quite think it works that way Compa."

A slithering feeling went between my legs, but I shrugged it off as my clothes moving. I was so tired that even if there was anything around, I doubted I'd have the energy to deal with it.

Then that same slithering feeling hit Compa, but her reaction was much more different. Her eyes widened and I could see her shiver and then scream loud enough for deaf people to hear.

"Snake!" She shouted to the high heavens.

"Is it solid?" I asked, my joke completely ignored.

Nepgear and IF stood up fast while Overdrive and I couldn't care less. The movement wasn't near us, but around the bottom of the shallow grove we could definitely see movement.

Then, Overdrive's eyes widened as well as he tried to say, "Oh hell, this ain't-"

All at once, like a flash of lightning, we were being suspended upside down by a strange cord-like force. Grindrix laying on the floor next to Overdrive's crossbow, us men were defenseless. We were being held against our will by strange green wires that choked the life out of us. My arms were bound and my ribs were being squeezed to the point of almost breaking. I was useless and so was Overdrive. I looked around to see if anyone could help us, but everyone was chained up, including Nepgear, who was getting up close and personal with our wiry attackers.

Right up next to Nepgear's face, a USB cord's head stared at me with a metallic gaze and electricity sparking around. With a single sharp lash, the thing paralyzed her by stabbing her in the neck.

"This ain't good!" shouted Overdrive, still struggling against the tangled mess of living cords. Another second later and he was paralyzed as well, falling victim to the wires. IF was bound at the arms and she couldn't get to her claws. The only one that had a chance of escape was Compa, but she was too terrified to even move. Her simple mind focused too much on the fact that something slithery was on her.

Shouting with what little air I had left in my body, I told Compa, "Spray them with acid, Compa! Please!"

I didn't think she heard me, but I was beginning to lose sight and consciousness, so I couldn't assume anything. My vision started to blur, my hearing started to fail and so did my breathing.

"Do it for us, Compa, get your needle out and spray them!" said IF desperately. She too had felt the wire's sting but she fought to encourage the immune Compa to help. I could only see them struggling from where I was, my vision fading more and more by the second.

Compa was losing air and fast, but she struggled the hardest out of everyone to free her arms. Finger by finger, she freed her hand and slowly pushed her arm to retrieve her needle out of her secret storage area. With a shakey grip, she didn't pour acid on the wires, but rather, she poured water all over them. Thinking herself clever, she got to be the last conscious member to watch the Wire Vines short-circuit. Unfortunately, she didn't realize that in doing that, she effectively turned the whole cavern into an electric deathtrap that had quickly rendered the girl unconscious. Everyone was dropped to the ground, the Wire Vines being no more.

/(+::/o\::o)\

Climbing up a rigid canyon wall, Headshot spat out another dust cloud that found it's way into his mouth. His armor had been torn to hell, he lacked the energy to even really move around, and he was about ready to kill a certain teammate of his. The Phantom Valley held no mercy for him at all. Almost forced to crawl, Headshot limped his way to the nearby building titled "Dementia Void"

The pain shooting through his body was almost unbearable and he was so close to just dropping dead. He laid a hand on the cold steel bar of the door and pushed, not opening anything. Frustrated, he pushed again and again, almost tearing apart the door. Wearing his most angry expression, he pulled on the door and it opened silently. Not even caring, he walked inside just in time for his teammate to clamber out of his sleeping pod.

"dud3, wh47 73h h311 h4pp3n3d 70 y0u?" asked Overkill, waking up with his hazy head bobbing from one side to the other.

Pointing a shakey finger directly at Overkill, Headshot said with what little voice he had left, "You...have one seriously screwed up mind!"

Passing out on the floor, Headshot had no energy to keep going. Overkill had no idea where he even was. With a confused voice, Overkill said, "! d0n7 g37 !7, ! d0n7 3v3n n0 wh3r3 ! 4m!1!11!"

/(+::/o\::o)\

I woke up with a numb body and my eyes staring somewhere they weren't supposed to be.

"Dammit Compa, you just have to wear a mini-skirt don't you?" I thought to myself as I closed my eyes and pretended I didn't see anything until I could feel my body. My HUD had turned on and let me know that I leveled up and that a challenge was completed for surviving a Wire Vine attack. Getting up and retrieving Grindrix, I shook awake everybody, one by one.

The only one still asleep was Compa and I feared the worst for her. Being the only one able to feel my body, I assigned myself to checking on everyone. Compa was the only one that didn't have a pulse.

"Come on girl, don't be dead, don't be dead dammit," I whispered with a heavy heart. So worried that she was dead, I tried everything I could think of to wake her up. IF walked up to her, used a Phoenix Down and promptly woke the girl up.

Looking up at IF with a narrowed gaze and said with an aggitated voice, "You couldn't have done that sooner? Like, before I started freaking out that my friend was dead?"

"Aww, I'm your friend now Cody?" said Compa with a sweet voice that I missed.

"Never said you weren't," I grinned and helped her up to her feet. With everyone up and at 'em, we decided on what to do next. The war outside had moved far enough away for us to continue through the jungles. Everyone was healed up enough for us to move out, but we made sure to watch our step. With my tension high, I kept a firm grip on Grindrix's sweat-covered handle.

Just as humid as ever, the jungle was beaten down by the intense sun. It didn't help that the closed in jungle kept heat bound up, but what was even worse was that the magma creatures were getting strength bonuses from the heat. Up ahead we could hear gunfire starting up again, rockets blowing up trees and scattering earth.

"Just what the hell is all this fighting about?" asked IF to no avail. None of us had an answer to give her. I wondered where the mechs even came from to begin with. The designs weren't from Planeptune, that was for sure, and I didn't think that they could've come all the way from Lastation.

IF stopped for some reason, halting us all one at a time. Being in the back of the line, I couldn't see what was going on. I tapped on Compa's shoulder and asked, "What's going on up there?"

"There's a buncha sticky vines up ahead." Compa replied, IF coming back to group us up.

With a commanding voice, IF told us, "The path up ahead is blocked, so it looks like we're taking to the skies...er, trees."

"What happened to the rule about tree climbing?" I asked.

"It's been revoked," said IF in a stoical voice.

"You just said that for the sake of trying to be badass."

"I don't need to try, I am badass."

Overdrive rolled her eyes and asked the giggling CPU, "Is her ego usually this large?"

"IF has a...unique way of showing her confidence," said Nepgear with a smile.

She pointed to a nearby cliffside that we could use to get up to a tree. I questioned that the treetops would hold our weight, but I couldn't guess around Trickstar. Nothing was as it seemed around the thick jungles. Bounding up the cliffsides like a naturally made obstical course, our group made a path out of the trees, leaping around the treetops like apes.

The only downfall to the tree hopping was the nasty lava creatures flying around like mosquitoes during summer. They weren't warriors, so they weren't hostile, but we had more than enough reason to be paranoid that the warriors weren't far from the pack. The treetops shook as our weight landed on them. How they held strong was beyond me, but our path was slowly coming to an end as we came across the River of Ghosts.

"That doesn't look good..." noted Nepgear, staring off in the distance. There was something burning not far from the shores of the River of Ghosts. With our vision distracted, we didn't notice the giant lava moth swooping in from behind. The giant tree we stood on was brought down in an instant.

Shouting above the sounds of wood breaking, IF screamed, "Hang on to something!"

The tree hit the ground with a mighty thud and I was sent rolling with my eyes closed tight. We were shaken, rattled, and rolled once our descending platform finally made contact with solid ground. Somehow, just ever so ironically, our platform landed on the other side of the River of Ghosts and, despite being disoriented, we were all okay.

"How did we manage that?" asked Overdrive, scratching his head at the strange coincidence.

"Because," started IF with a matter-of-fact tone, "it would be boring to have to hunt for another way across."

The dirt path before us was laden with burn marks and bullets. War had taken a hefty toll on our side of the River of Ghosts. I could smell the fire from nearby, the smoke wafting through the wrecked jungle with ease. Shiny leaves from beautiful trees were now covered in soot and ash when they weren't torn to shreds by stray bullets.

"Hey, isn't this the Poopeynoknee tribe village...place?" asked Compa, looking around the burning village we entered. Indeed, it looked like the Pyupanounou village, but most of the villagers were dead and their buildings burning. Of course, the flames were purely aesthetic and weren't actually burning, but it still didn't take away any effect.

"Competition's getting real bad. I don't like it..." said Overdrive grimly.

"It's been bad dude, it was just a matter of time before even barbarians headed to war," I added with a more stoic voice. As we entered the town square, two shouts could be heard, each distinct in sound. I gripped Grindrix and prepared for battle, keeping my abilities at the ready. They came from distant sides, and as we watched for them, we could see figures coming through the thick smoke. Covered in soot and wounds, Tik and Tok approached us, glaring at each other with discontent. Whether I knew them or not, I still kept Grindrix at the ready.

"What's going on here?" asked Nepgear.

Building off what Nepgear said, I asked the duo, "Yeah, things don't look good here. What's happening, you two?"

Pointing at Tok, Tik said with an angered voice, "He happened! While I was getting supplies at the mines, he turned the whole village against me!"

"That's because you've been stealing those supplies for yourself!" Tok shot back at the small villager. It didn't take but a few seconds of arguing for the two to begin fighting fiercely. Grabbing Tik's hand, IF held him still while I stabilized the more physically fit Tok.

"Now, let's sort this out with words," said Compa with an innocent voice.

"Words are for the weak. We must kill all that oppose and rise to the top!" Tik shouted at the top of his lungs in a barbaric roar. The two of them were refusing to cooperate and we could hear the fighting getting closer and closer. Bullets ripped through the burning huts around us and monstrous footsteps of metal pounded their way to us.

"That's why you're weak Tok, you talk of fighting and do nothing!" Tik continued

Tok's muscles bulged as he was fueled by an unparalleled fury, not even offering words in response. He shot out of my's reach and went straight for Tik, ready to swing. IF was prepared to stop them in a more brutal way. She first punched out Tok with a swift right hook, then gave a swift kick to Tik and sent him to the ground.

"Guess that works," I said to myself, standing back from the unconscious fighters.

"Well, as Compa's grandfather says, 'When words fail, there's always fists'," replied IF, dusting off soot off of her coat while we exited the village and got away from the burning village.

Compa cocked her head to the side in confusion and asked, "When did my grandpa tell you that?"

"It was at your birthday party last year. A little after your grandpa thought I was a boy," IF replied casually. I snickered and IF gave me a quick jab in the arm.

Up ahead was the rickety old bridge, the watery chasm far below waiting to claim the poor sonuvabitch to fall off the cliff or the bridge. We crossed with caution, taking light steps and only going one at a time. I was the last one to cross, taking a nervous gulp and making my way down the bridge. My legs shook and I could hear wood cracking under my feet. The cracking grew louder and louder as I walked, making me speed up. The speed however was costly. The bridge's rope supports began to snap and I had to rush over to the other side, quickly dashing through to the other end. The bridge was still holding, but not by much.

"Hope nobody plans to use that bridge anytime soon," I commented, following the others through the thinner jungle. It wasn't long before we were out of the frying pan and into the freezer. Out of the blazing hot jungle, we walked about in the deep forests skirting Planeptune. Light would peer through the high oak trees and all seemed peaceful in the deep woods. But our adventure back home was far from over. We had just skipped out on a duel between siblings, and already we came across our next random event. On the ground, hiding under the shade of an evergreen tree, was a strange egg that looked like something the weird lava creatures would make.

Quickly spotting the cute egg, Compa ran up to it and eyed it with a happy smile. "Ge-Ge, can we keep it? Please?"

"I wouldn't carry that around Compa, those lava creatures aren't to be toyed with," Overdrive tried to reason.

Adding onto what Overdrive said and pointing at the lava egg, I said, "Yeah, I agree with him. You know what those things are, carrying one with us is a harbinger of death."

"We can't just leave it! It hasn't even hatched yet," said Compa, comforting the warm egg.

"It could come in handy to have one of the creatures around. They could be powerful familiars," reasoned Nepgear with a little more logic than her airheaded friend.

Personally, I probably wouldn't even be able to sleep at night knowing that one of the little critters could be around. They could probably even cause the creatures to start spawning in Planeptune. I looked over at IF and said, "It's your call, IF. Keep it or chuck it?"

"Don't chuck it! That'll break it!" said Compa sternly.

IF crossed her arms and thought to herself about what to do with the little egg.

"It probably isn't a good idea to have it around, but even so, it's only a small one. What's the worst that could happen?" IF made a valid point, but I still didn't feel comfortable having the thing around. I could only hope that IF was making a good choice.

With that said, we continued through the thick forests, Compa gripping the egg happily in her hands. Grand trees outlined a narrow path to follow and, in the distance, it looked like there were more ents waiting for us to stray too far from the path. Just like before, birds and little critters flocked to Nepgear like she was a nature god. At one point, a squirrel came up to her begging for nuts and wouldn't leave her alone.

"I'm sorry little one, I don't have anything," Nepgear said to the little furry squirrel.

"If he wants nuts, there's plenty in the back," IF pointed towards Overdrive and I.

"I feel like we're being discriminated against," I said to Overdrive.

"Oh yeah. I feel the saltiness towards us proud men," Overdrive replied.

Compa, wearing a carefree smile, said, "You may be nuts, but you're our nuts!"

"Commence misinterpretation," said Overdrive with a promptly timed facepalm.

I tried to match Compa's carefree smile before telling her, "Compa, I love ya, but you're not helping our situation."

Her smile faded, and she asked with her innocent head cocked to the side, "I don't get it."

I gave her a pat on the head with my free hand and said, "Probably for the better."

"Woah!" Overdrive quickly blurted out, his eyes opened wide and staring at something hidden in the depths of the forest.

Typically, I asked him, "What is it?"

"There was," Overdrive stopped to think of how to describe it, his eyes hunting for the same thing, "a strange little guy with pink hair. It looked like a human but it moved like a freakin' ape."

Pointing near a group of shrubs, IF said, "Is that what you're looking for?"

A small little dude with pink hair and green shorts watched us contently until he realized he had been detected. Quickly dashing off at an insane speed, we all looked at each other and asked if anyone knew what the little guy was. The only hint we had was IF telling a rumor about a small child that was raised in the forests and used a strange grappling spear to get around at fast speeds. I wasn't about to hunt for the thing, but I still questioned where the hell all the animals were getting clothes at.

"Uh guys, we got another problem," said Nepgear, approaching a thick wad of thorny vines. There wasn't going to be any casual passing through the mess of thorns up ahead.

Sighing and narrowing a frustrated gaze at the vines, IF complained, "I'm getting real sick of the whole path-blocking crap."

We couldn't dive into the depths of the forest to get around or we'd end up mangled by a few malevolent tree spirits. Backtracking would be useless, if not dangerous, and the only thing we had around us that could possibly help is Compa's acid. Which, even if we did use her acid, it would take a full day to melt through the mess.

Nepgear eyed a nearby construction mech, looking over its every part with glee. The machine had security locks on the joints and it had only a single chainsaw for chopping down trees. It was enough to get us through, taken that it didn't break. Judging from the faded blood coating the saw teeth, I assumed that the chainsaw had been cutting through more than just a few trees.

Overdrive, seeing the same, wore an eager smile, leading me to ask, "Got an idea?"

"I can pilot this thing. Might need some fixing though," he told me, climbing aboard the construction mech. The mech clicked and creaked as Overdrive climbed up it's frame. The rigid moans the machine made hinted at it's age.

Nepgear, quickly examining it, said, "Looks like the ABS is out on it. A few bolts are missing on the leg assembly, and a few rotary shafts are cracked. Nothing too major, but if you wouldn't mind helping me, I'd appreciate it."

"Here Gear, I'll help," said IF. Compa and I stood by, watching the grease monkeys go at it with the mech. I personally didn't have much mechanical know-how, nor did I want to get in the way of the ones that did.

Innocently, Compa asked me, "So Cody...do you really love me?"

I knew what she was talking about and defending myself would be hard. Giving my best innocent smile, I told her, "As a friend, my dear Compa. For if I did confess some kind of feelings for you, IF would have my head mounted above her fireplace."

"Aw, well I love all my friends!" said Compa.

The certain weight dropped from my chest knowing that I didn't pick the wrong words. Despite my all-too-casual word phrasing, Compa did have a natural charm to her. I liked her as a friend, that much I would admit. Love, however, was out of the question. Not just for fear of IF killing me mercilessly in my sleep, but ditzy people weren't quite my thing.

Nepgear jested, "Looks like you have competition, IF."

"I smell jealousy," I instinctively remarked.

"Sh-shut up! I really will mount your head above my fireplace!"

"You have a fireplace Iffy?" asked Compa.

Overdrive stated with an attitude reminiscent of IF herself, "I have the feeling she'd make one for the sole purpose of mounting certain trophies above it."

"See? He gets it," IF said, pointing up to Overdrive.

"Does this keep my name off your theoretical hitlist?" asked Overdrive.

"Yes, yes it does."

Compa and I both laughed at their conversation. Nepgear and Overdrive, alternating between piloting and fixing the machine. There was something wrong with the dashboard, leading Nepgear to take a little longer to repair the mech. She didn't have much problem in rewiring the circuitboards, signaling at the end of her repairs, "Okay Overdrive, I think it's good now."

He clapped his hands together eagerly and said, "Alrighty, let's see if I can get this thing going."

"Since when have you known how to use these things?" asked IF, watching him get situated in the rigid metal machine.

Fixing a broken lever mechanism, Overdrive explained briefly, "I never told you? I used to work for Lastation's Atomic Aftermath Construction Crew."

The machine roared to life as Overdrive turned it on. The engine's noise slowly faded to a hum but the security locks didn't disengage. Confused, Overdrive took a look around the lower pedals, noticing an extra pedal next to the torso rotation pedal. "Dammit!"

"What's wrong?" asked Nepgear.

"It's a clutch! I can't drive clutch!"

All but Compa facepalmed.

"I'll get it! Let me do it!" chimed Nepgear, earning an eager expression.

Overdrive, dropping from his steel throne, made sure Nepgear got safely in position. He asked her, "You gonna be alright running this? You're playing with power right here."

"Don't worry, it isn't my first time piloting a Rafflesia."

With a look of worry, Overdrive gave her the okay to go ahead with piloting it, helping her close the safety dome before leaping off and keeping a fine distance from it.

"Do us proud soldier!" Overdrive said to Nepgear.

Nepgear flashed a thumbs up from the safety dome, going to work on the thorns like she had driven one all her life.

Speaking in a concerned voice, Overdrive asked the totally complacent IF, "Does she, uh...normally act like this? Does she even know what she's do-"

IF raised a hand to stop him, saying with a smile, "That's Gear. Don't know what on Gamindustry happened, but the girl has a full-on thing for mecha stuff."

"It's concerning sometimes, but it's just one of Ge-Ge's little quirks that make her all that much more special!" Compa added.

"Until she goes psycho over it. Then we question her sanity," finished IF.

"From what I see, she seems to be doing alarmingly...well. Not complaining, but...yeah...this is a thing. She just seemed so innocent, I'd never imagine the girly Nepgear to be such a grease monkey."

"That's what we thought," IF and Compa said together.

I had to give it to her, she wasn't any noob at mech piloting. She showed off a little of what she was capable of, moving the machine as fluently as she would with his own body. Hacking through the thick thorny brush, Nepgear was truly at home running her mech. In the background, I could see the ents watching us intently, still smiling and waiting for us to get too close. I gave them the infamous middle finger and they flipped me off in return. Almost at the end of the brush,the mech began to spit and sputter, slowly breaking down.

She was just barely able to cut through the last of the thorns before the machine fell silent. In the background, I could hear the creepy ents snickering and laughing like demonic spirits of the forest. IF and Overdrive had to help her out of the machine since the safety helm was jammed shut. Compa still babied her egg and I didn't want to get in the way. That and she was playing with a little baby bird that wandered near her.

We could see the walls of Planeptune and knew our journey was almost over. I was tempted to climb up the walls manually just to get the hell out of Trickstar. The damned ents were starting to creep me out. All they did was watch us and laugh with their bark-covered mouths. Thinking that, I immediately rushed over to the wall and tried to climb up it, Ninja's Creed style.

"Come on Code, you're not gonna be able to climb that," said IF impatiently, watching me try to climb my way up the walls. I was short by just a few centimeters from my next handhold. Giving up and heading back down, I sulked in defeat and pretended not to hear or see the snickering ents.

Nepgear rested her hand on my shoulder and said with a cheery smile, "We're almost there Code, don't worry," A small bird perched on her shoulder chirped happily, agreeing with her.

I brightened up a little and kept my eyes on the walls of Planeptune. The architecture sorta kept my mind occupied while we traversed the rocks and dirt trails circling the city. The ents still tried to get my attention, snickering and moaning and even occasionally throwing rocks at me. They were like freakin' trolls, just trying to piss me off enough to go and confront them. Gripping Grindrix tight, I was so seriously tempted to go raise my woodcutting level on the little bastards, but I knew better than to stray from the group. Rumors flee from the forest, ones telling of people that would get lost in the forest and never be seen again.

"I wonder how Histoire's doing," thought IF aloud. Occasionally, she'd check her phones one by one, getting better signal thanks to Planeptune being so close.

"Haven't you kept in contact with her?" I asked.

"Normally I would," IF started, changing phones and almost tripping over a rock, "but the girl's just like Nepgear. Once her phone's turned on silent, it'll stay that way unless someone's around to remind her to turn it on."

"It's true. That's kinda one of those things she learned from me that I really wish she hadn't..." added Nepgear, shying away a little. Upon saying that, she reminded herself to check her little handheld. Nothing of importance popped up, prompting her to stow away the little handheld.

An awkward silence filled the air. Not even the trees made a peep for the longest time. The only other movement around us was Compa's egg occasionally shaking slightly in her hands. She'd look down at it and smile, happy to carry around the little lava egg, red at the bottom and black on the rest. Finally, I decided to break the silence with more casual banter, something that isn't passed around much.

"I gotta ask this, it's been driving me nuts. But, what exactly are you checking on your phone there, IF?"

IF stayed distracted for a few more seconds, then quickly looked up at me and said, "I use this little app to send my Guild Recruits on missions around Gamindustry."

"Seriously?"

IF nodded and showed me her phone, pulling the app up. A bunch of small pictures up in the top of the screen showed her which recruits were doing what and also showed a sectioned-off map of Gamindustry and showed how much influence competition was having on the lands. The worst at the moment was Trickstar.

"That's pretty neat," I declared, almost missing the entrance to Planeptune. I had to quickly pull Nepgear back in the right direction. She was staring at her phone and not paying attention to where she was going, almost walking straight into a tree.

The streets of Planeptune were fairly silent. It was quite disturbing to see such silence imbued in the streets. Few people walked around and it looked like a lot of the stores weren't even open.

"Well this is great. How the hell are we supposed to shop now?" asked IF in a frustrated tone. Most every store was either useless to us or closed.

"Hey, I think I see something way over there," noted Nepgear, taking off for the far off arcade. The only real signs of life were coming from a well known arcade that I used to go to when I wasn't working at the Coliseum.

"Wait up Gear!" shouted IF, taking off with the rest of us in tow. I had enough of running around, but even so, I was interested in what was keeping the streets void of life. Nearing the arcade and entering it, the sounds of competition flooded our ears. Anything from fighting games to rhythm games to driving games and even to cooking games, people were competing against each other.

The line formed around a popular fighting game was our best bet to ask questions at. Nepgear seemed to think so anyways, she stood behind a stoic and burly man and tapped on his shoulder. He turned around and asked with a deep voice, "What?"

"Sorry to bother you, but what's going on here?" asked Nepgear in the most polite voice she could maintain.

The man rolled his eyes and said, "It's a gaming competition. Duh."

I could already see the conversation going bad, either by me getting pissed off and decapitating him or from Nepgear getting lost in the horde of people stampeding through to fight for a spot in the next competition.

"Damn, this place has been hit harder than I thought," said IF. She kept her phones in place around her belt so she could take a better look around. Only going to the arcade once left her a little in the dark, but even she knew that there was once a lot more casual games that were now absent in the arcade.

"Overdrive, Compa, I want you two to head to the Basilicom ASAP. I've got bad feelings about all this." IF directed. Having no qualms with the orders, the duo took off for the Basilicom while IF, Nepgear, and I tried to figure out what all was going on.

"Why's everybody getting so competitive?" asked Nepgear bluntly.

The man started to lose patience with Nepgear, raising his voice and saying, "Why not? Why not go for the gold? Why not aim to be the best? It's basic stuff around here, get with the program."

"S-sorry, I was just wondering..." said Nepgear with a nervous sigh.

"Are you here to compete or not?" the burly man asked. Nepgear shook her head quickly. "Then get out of here little girl, you're too slow to waste time with."

"Goodness!" said Nepgear.

I finally had enough and stepped close to the line. With a stern voice, I asked him, "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

"Don't know, don't care," he countered.

My arm started to shake as it gripped Grindrix with an angered feeling. Grumbling in the most menacing tone, I said to him, "Give me one good reason-"

"Stop Code, he isn't worth it," IF pulled me away from the man. I wanted so badly to smash the dude's face into floor but I respected IF's decision and kept a cool head.

"It's okay Code, I know I'm not weak. His words didn't mean anything," Nepgear stated.

I knew she was being sincere, but that didn't subdue my anger. Trying my hardest to keep my voice down, I reasoned with her, "But still Nepgear, your people should be a little more respectful to their CPU. Stand up for yourself, okay sis? You don't deserve to be treated like that."

With a positive nod, Nepgear agreed with me. I felt a little relieved of stress, but still, rage tried to break its bonds deep inside me. It pained me to see Planeptune falling to where it was, but it pained me even more to see people be so mean to such a sweet girl.

Nepgear looked to her sides to make sure nobody was watching. Everyone's eyes were plastered on screens and floors, not a one focusing on what was going on around them. Seeing the coast clear, Nepgear grabbed onto my hand with hers. Shocked, I skipped a breath by accident. Once I was in the norm, I looked down to her, her hand definitely holding mine.

"Please calm down. Please? For me?" she said in a sweet voice that just melted my heart.

I smiled to her and said, "Okay, I'll keep calm the best I can."

Nepgear smiled and let go of my hand. Almost on cue, IF came over to us and said, "We might want to head out to the Basilicom. Overdrive says that something bad's happened."

We didn't say a word to each other, just marching off for the not-too-distant Basilicom centered in the middle of the city. All around us, the steel buildings loomed over with shadows of intent, staring down at us like they were the only things left of an abandoned town. The sun beat down but it wasn't nearly as humid as it was in Trickstar. Along the way, we saw a duo fighting over some dropped arcade tokens and almost went psychotic in trying to get them. It saddened me and also worried me. The nation fell a ways, but I couldn't imagine that Histoire was just sitting idly by while it plunged further down it's chaotic hole.

I hoped that what I just saw was just my eyes playing tricks on me, but in the dark alleys I thought I saw a trio of red eyes looking menacingly my way. Monsters were getting bold and moving into the city with few people to stop them. Vowing silently to myself, I swore that I'd take the time soon to try and clear out Planeptune a little.

The light ahead was green, the little pedestrian symbol giving us the A-OK to go. Nepgear quickly dashed forward for the other side, completely oblivious to a speeding truck. Like a deer caught in headlights, Nepgear froze in panic, her muscles stiffened in fear. I wasn't close enough to save her, but IF was. She quickly jet out and pushed her out of the way, landing on the street safely. My heart skipped a beat or two, but I let out a relieved sigh to see that she was okay.

"Didn't I tell you before to look both ways before crossing the street?" IF asked in a faux aggitated voice. Just to keep her friendly terms, she gave a childish smirk to little Nepgear, helping her up and dusting off her clothes.

"I'm sorry, I really am! I...didn't look first," Nepgear started, IF stopping her and saying, "Don't worry about it. Let's just get to the Basilicom."

I quickly joined up, looking first before dashing across the street. The Basilicom was in view, and already it didn't look good. It's natural glimmer was fading and it looked pale from where we were. Weaving through the city blocks and occasional person wandering blindly with their noses stuck in their handhelds, we made it to the Basilicom. We thrust the doors open and, from where we were, looked for Compa and Overdrive.

"Where are you guys?" IF shouted into the halls. A distant shout came from the meeting room. We rushed to the door and flung it open, scared by what we saw.

Thinking aloud in a narrative voice, Compa said while holding her egg, "Sitting down in the meeting room was Histoire, but instead of working on paperwork, she was playing a game on a handheld device! Dun-dun-dunnn!"

"Compa, we can do without the narration," said IF, walking over to Histoire in hopes of getting her attention. She stood behind her, impatiently tapped her foot, and stared at her with a narrowed gaze. A few seconds passed and Histoire didn't even blink. Finally, IF coughed very loudly and scared Histoire, almost making her fling the handheld elsewhere.

"Oh, greetings IF and party. It's great to see you all again," greeted Histoire, putting her game on pause and setting the handheld down on the table.

Overdrive snorted once he had seen Histoire's gaming handheld, prompting me to ask him what was funny. He didn't bother to hide his snickering as he explained, "Dude, that's a AGES Dreamtoss. Those things are freakin' ancient, I'm surprised all of them haven't been shipped to the Gamindustry Graveyard."

I raised my brow at him and said, "I don't think it's that old yet."

"So, when'd you pick up gaming there, Histoire?" I asked the 'busy' Oracle.

Wearing a cheery smile, she said, "I've actually had this for a long time. Neptune convinced me to buy one when they were popular."

I quickly diverted my gaze to Nepgear. Worrying that hearing her sister's name would set her into depression, I kept my gaze on her. She seemed fine, no ill effects or anything. It felt so nice to see her not getting depressed over hearing her sister's name.

"We've noticed a lot of disarray in Planeptune. What's going on Histoire?" IF asked bluntly, crossing her arms and standing near her.

With a guilty voice and a nervous gulp, Histoire replied, "I...might've neglected to take care of paperwork for a while."

"How long is a while?" asked Nepgear and Compa.

"Around three weeks. Maybe more," Histoire sheepishly admitted. I could understand a day or two, but three weeks is way too long to keep a city off maintenance. It was no wonder Planeptune's shares took a nose dive.

Nepgear's face wore a concerned expression when she found the room where Histoire stored all the papers she didn't take care of. Pointing into the room and sighing, she said, "Could one of you help me get some of these out please?"

IF gaped her mouth and said with a distressed voice to the guilty Histoire, "Damn Histoire, you really let your work slip."

With a despairing sigh, Histoire apologized again. She knew she was to blame for letting Planeptune slip, but we were just glad that she realized her error at all. We were very lucky she was limited to single player games or we'd lose her too to competition. So far, from what Overdrive and I could tell from her amass of games built up in a chair, she was addicted to God of Ruin and Metal Gear Liquid. Breathing a sigh of relief, we temporarily confiscated her Dreamtoss and helped the girls move the papers from the storage closet to the meeting room.

Intertwining her fingers and cracking them with a loud sound, IF sat down next to Nepgear and complained, "This is gonna be more of a pain in the ass than level grinding..."

"Iffy!" Compa shouted, "What'd I tell you about popping your fingers?"

"Sorry Compa," apologized IF, taking up a pen and helping Nepgear with some documents. Overdrive and I exchanged glances and said, "We'll just head off for a little boys-night-out."

"Yeah, I don't think you guys would be able to do much for us other than fetch us food, something Compa does," IF chuckled, not looking our way when she was talking. Her eyes were focused hard on the task at hand.

Nepgear looked over to us and said, "Have fun guys, see ya later."

"Please be sure to check in at eight o'clock for supper," noted Histoire, Compa adding that they wouldn't want to miss out on her famous pork loin.

I turned around with my head looking over my shoulder. "See you later. Let us know if you need anything," I finished, waving goodbye with Overdrive taking lead down the hallway. I shut the door behind me, scattering the scent of fresh ocean breeze that somehow stayed around the corridors no matter the day or time.

"So what all are we gonna do?" asked Overdrive, holstering his crossbow and flinging his head to the side to get a lock of blue hair out of his eyes.

Grindrix slung over my shoulder, I told him bluntly, "We're going to give a little aid to our fair nation."

Stepping outside into the blinding sun, we shielded our eyes while the doors to the Basilicom closed behind us. Lowering our arms, we were greeted by nobody and saw nothing but shadows occasionally darting around in the dark alleys. That was my first objective: Get some of the excess monsters out of Planeptune. There wasn't any way in hell they were doing any good lingering around the alleys like a shadowy virus.

"Wanna test your sniping skills?" I asked Overdrive, looking over my shoulder to a nearby elevator leading to the top of the Basilicom. The elevator stood out a little, but it beat having to climb up the sides of the building like I had to do in Lowee.

"Damn straight, I wanna do some sniping!" shouted Overdrive excitedly. His voice was probably loud enough to be heard by the girls still inside the Basilicom. Walking over to the shiny elevator, we entered it and pushed the little up button. A clip of elevator music played while we slowly ascended the side of the Basilicom. I unconsciously started humming along to the tune while we waited. Overdrive gave me a raised brow but I pretended not to notice.

The elevator stopped and opened up, the little tune stopping as we exited. The gentle cool breeze blew around my hair, my arm automatically going up to keep it out of my face. I needed to get a trim soon, my hair was almost becoming neck length and my bangs were down to my cheeks.

Setting up shop on the edge of the basilicom, Overdrive laid down and got comfortable, then attached a scope onto his crossbow. I wouldn't have thought that a crossbow would be a good long range weapon, but Overdrive was more than happy to prove me wrong. I didn't doubt his skills, especially after seeing what he could do in the Gamindustry Graveyard.

Peering from his scope and looked over to me, Overdrive asked with an anxious tone, "Anything specific you want me to shoot for? I don't see too many targets other than a few pedestrians, but I really don't want to add that kind of kill to my Gamercard."

"Check the alleys," I told him sternly, my eyes still fixed on the distant shifting shadows, "There are more than a few enemies hiding in the dark."

"Activating hybrid scope," he declared, twisting a knob on his scope. "Ah, there's the little bastards. Time to own some noobs..."

Just like that, he launched a razor-sharp arrow at an unseeable speed. It penetrated a creature's skull, killing it in an instant and sending it to the Gamindustry Graveyard. He cocked back his crossbow with a rigid click and reloaded it with an arrow from a pouch on his belt.

"Target down. Good shot," I told him. He just gave me a thumbs up and took aim again for another far-off target, barely missing a wandering pedestrian. If it wasn't for his arrows flying at Mach 4 with enough force to clear a building, I would've shot the handheld console out of the pedestrian's hand. That'd get him off the gaming for a while.

"Wanna give it a shot?" asked Overdrive, taking another foe down with one well placed arrow.

I laughed and said, "You sure you wanna trust a noob like me with a weapon like that?"

"Trust me bro, you won't be the worst, I'm sure," he reassured me, taking his blue eye away from the scope and scooting over for me to take aim with the crossbow. I took his spot, laying down and aiming down the scope with my right eye. His hybrid scope was so clear, seeing in night vision and thermal vision as well. Propping the steel stock against my shoulder, I took a deep breath as a monster entered my sights.

"Relax before taking your shot. Always inhale when preparing, then shoot while exhaling. It'll keep you calmer," said Overdrive, using a small scope to spot enemies for me.

Once I finished my preparation and inhaled, my finger gripped the sweaty trigger and pulled at the end of my exhale. The arrow was launched at a hypersonic speed and stapled the beast to the wall. Disappearing to the graveyard, the arrow remained in the wall. Not a soul was around to notice or care, so my worry of striking a pedestrian was slim.

"Good shot dude. See? I told you you'd be fine," said Overdrive. I gave him a quick grin and went back to the crossbow, aiming down at another alley with an insect-like creature rearing it's ugly head out. I was just about to pull the trigger when Overdrive said, "Uh bro, you might wanna reload."

I moved my head away from my scope to check the bow and noticed that it was neither cocked nor loaded. With a childish laugh of embarrassment, I thought aloud, "Well, that's surely embarrassing."

"No worries dude. I gotcha covered," said Overdrive, spinning an arrow on the tip of his finger. We both felt like bona fida badasses sniping atop the Basilicom!

/(+::/o\::o)\

"wh47 73h h311 d!d u d0 t0 p!55 7h!5 7h!n6 0ff?" screamed Overkill at the top of his lungs like a ten-year-old. He ducked and weaved through heavy jungle trees, narrowly avoiding incoming bullet fire and missles coming from mechs around them. He tried shooting back with his dual SMGs, but that did little other than piss others off.

"I didn't do a damn thing! It spotted us and started chasing!" Headshot shouted back. Pursuing behind them was an enormous salamander-like lava creature, hell-bent on crushing the Faith Breakers under its rocky feet. Considering their range, Headshot was sure he wasn't about to miss a shot with his shotgun. But even at that, he did little to no damage.

Off in the distance, watching the duo flee for their lives was a tribal warrior on Tik's side. Speaking with an orderly tone, he said to his commander, "Master Chief Tik, you might want to see this," The man struggled to hold back laughter, despite being in the presence of his commanding officer.

Snatching the wooden binoculars from his comrade, Tik stared in the distance as a large lava salamander chased the two bumbling clan idiots. Snickering and eventually laughing, Tik said, "Yup, looks like they pissed off Little Bertha all right. Probably stole her egg, how much you wanna bet?"

The comrade next to him replied, "I dunno, but if they don't hurry up, that creature's gonna-"

He cut his sentence short as the running duo suddenly disappeared. "Where'd they go?"

"Hehe," Tik laughed, "looks like that old as hell bridge finally fell apart. Hope the two can swim."

/(+::/o\::o)\

The alleys of Planeptune never looked so monster free. I really got a helluva workout on my eyes from sniping.

"Damn nice dude, damn nice. Might have to buy you a bow of your own one day," said Overdrive with a friendly smile, taking back his crossbow and holstering it.

The gesture was nice, but I couldn't abandon my favorite battleaxe. "Maybe I can get Grindrix here an upgrade. That'd be sick to have a crossbow attached to an axe."

"An axe bayonet? I like the sound of that," Overdrive added, thinking to himself as we walked over to the still-raised elevator. Once we entered it, that charming music started to play. I hummed along happily and Overdrive even joined in. If the others were around, they'd swear we'd gone mad. The elevator opened back up and we departed for somewhere else. Other than the massive amounts of competition, Planeptune was as good as it was going to get.

"Now that we've got the monsters inside under control, now what?" asked Overdrive, walking with me down the empty sidewalk. Even at midday, Planeptune felt like it was abandoned. It wasn't the sun beating down on the city, it wasn't the monsters lurking in the alleys, none of that was what caused the streets of fair Planeptune to become bare. It was all the damned competition. People lined up outside of the arcades just to play in them, not to mention the people fighting like damned wild animals just to get in line. When the door occasionally opened, you could hear the sounds of arcade music flooding in and out, followed by screams of frustration and nerd rage.

There were about three big arcades set up around Planeptune and each one was just as filled as the last. Overdrive and I wandered around for hours trying to find one that wasn't filled to the brim. All the small arcades were shut down thanks to the bigger arcades sapping them of customers. Monopolies formed by those that knew how to exploit the craving gamer market sought control in not just Planeptune. It was something that occured in almost every nation, save for Lowee.

I sighed as we approached another arcade with lines poking out of the front doors. We tried to use our ties with Nepgear to get inside faster, but even then, people would actually shove their way into a people-made border keeping us from getting in unless we got in line. Lucky for us, the arcade didn't take too long to get into once we realized there was a back door. Utilizing our high sneaking levels, Overdrive and I slipped inside, looking around for something good to play. I was amazed nobody noticed a camo-freak and a berserker with a huge axe sneak in, but I guessed even the guards were busy gaming.

"Man, most of these arcades suck," said Overdrive, speaking a little louder to get his voice over the sounds of the arcade games blaring their themes and noises.

"You know what?" I grabbed Overdrive's attention, looking him square in the eyes when I said in a stern voice, "I'm gonna make my own arcade. A better arcade, with blackjack and hookers!"

"Isn't that basically a casino?" asked Overdrive.

My plans foiled, I slumped down and said, "Oh yeah. Well, wanna go to the casino? I think there's a good one near the edge of Planeptune."

Overdrive pulled on his pockets, revealing them to be empty, and said with a matter-of-factly voice, "Uh, in case you've forgotten, but we're broke on our own."

"Damn, that really sucks..." I moaned, exiting the arcade with Overdrive.

"Your ideas and reality tend to conflict often don't they?" he asked.

"Don't remind me..."

Despite leaving the arcade, we could still hear the noises from it like we were still inside. Walking past the anxious crowd, we took a walk down the sidewalk, aimlessly wandering around as the day wound down. Thinking to myself and not aloud by accident, I wondered how Nepgear was doing. I couldn't help much, mainly since I suck at handling paperwork, but I should've stayed just in case. Regretting wouldn't change much, but I had to think of something that we could do to help.

"You know, I never really asked this much, seeing that I worked with a braindead clan, but what exactly is causing the competition surge?" asked Overdrive.

"Something deep in Gamindustri fell out, resulting in lack of sportsmanship, creativity, and joy. The world's sapped of three things needed for a balanced gaming environment. Due to the loss of sportsmanship and joy, gamers have been seeking more definitive forms of 'winning' the game. The result of this is monopolies formed by exploiting the simplified gaming environments that have shifted focus to matchmaking. This in turn has resulted in a stagnation in the gaming market, and because of the gamers becoming over-focused on this simplification, faith in the CPUs has dropped dramatically, making shares scarce."

Overdrive stared in shock for a few seconds before quietly saying, "You sure know your stuff."

"I've been brooding over the exact issue for a few years now. If you don't subject yourself to the same ideals that the simple-minds follow, you can easily spot every flaw in the system."

"Is it really that bad though that no nation can recover from the stagnation though?"

I nodded my head grimly, telling him, "It's to the point that nobody dares try anything than what's been tested as tried-and-true. Multiplayer-oriented games have become what's popular, turning from a fad to an obsession due to the loss of the world's Sparks. Once we put the Sparks back into their rightful place in the world, this obsession will hopefully fade back into just a fad, resulting in more legroom for games to break out something to refresh the culture."

"And how long will this take?"

"No say really. I believe that Nepgear and Compa both calculated with Histoire that the shares would return to normal within five to seven years once the Sparks are returned."

Overdrive, pondering aloud, asked me, "What exactly pushed out these Spark things in the first place?"

I had to say that he had a good question that I didn't really think about. "You'll have to ask Histoire about that. It's a good question."

Then an all-too-familiar sight came to us like the sun in the early morning. The Planeptune Colosseum was crawling with people, many lines and sub-lines made waiting to enter. With my long-service perks, I'd be able to get in easy and get to fighting and even show Overdrive the ropes so he could help too.

Grinning beneath his shield of blue hair that covered his face, Overdrive made the witty comment, "You're thinking about what I think you're thinking about. And I like it. But should we really be spending our time participating in the same thing that's kinda killing the nation?"

"I can't say I condone this over possibly doing Guild missions. Still, I want to see how much the competition has gone since I was last here. I can at least report any changes I notice to Histoire. Come on, I can get us in quick. I think we can earn some serious cash and experience points doing this." I motioned for him to follow me past the waiting line. The bouncer at the door held me up, asking why I was coming all the way to the front. I showed him my ID card and he held the line aside so I could get in. As soon as we were in, our eyes met with a new poster that reflected the nearby ceiling light, making it hard to read.

"Brand new Duo-Battles! Twice the fight, twice the fun, twice the reward!"

Overdrive and I exchanged devilish grins and took an application for a quick match. I tasked Overdrive with filling out the paperwork while I went to my old locker room to retrieve my axe sharpener. I didn't even remember when the last time was that I sharpened my little beauty. I pulled it out of my rusty locker and the sharpener fell out with a metallic thud, settling down and unfolding for me. I took a firm grip of Grindrix and began sharpening her blade to outright, 100% perfection. Her blade was sharp enough to slice through anything and anyone.

"Alright, we're up in five," Overdrive noted. He gave a small chuckle and said, "It's been a while since I've been so pumped for some matchmaking. My rank needs it."

I let out a hardy laugh that disturbed some of the other participants nearby. "You and your rank dude, you'll never be high enough to satisfy, will you?"

"Nope, you can never be too good at something," said Overdrive, sitting down next to me and tinkering with his crossbow, adjusting the tension and adjusting the stock. He looked over at Grindrix and said, "Hope you're not bad with friendly fire."

"FF's turned off here. No worries about that," I ensured him, working with Grindrix again to see if I could get her blade even sharper. The sharpener was loud, but I'd be sure to stop occasionally to listen in on Overdrive. My main focus was on getting Grindrix as lethal as possible. I had no idea how powerful the contenders could've gotten since I was last competing.

"So are there any tips you can give for me? I've never participated here before," Overdrive asked a good question.

I thought for a few seconds while putting up my sharpener. With a stern voice, I warned him, "The only real advice I can give you is to never trust the floor. Never. Ever. I've had anything from electric shocks to spears shoved up my rear, not a one of them feeling any good."

Overdrive gave me a raised brow, but took my advice without question. He had his crossbow in hand just as I had Grindrix in mine. That dorky ref was still positioned outside of the battlegrounds. He sneered at me, looking down on me with his pathetic red eyes that made me want to just kill him so I'd never have to deal with him again. He knew why we came, stepping out of the way to let us in.

"Hope you get owned, noob!" he shouted to us as we walked away. I ignored him and tried to keep Overdrive focused on our real targets. Stepping before the wrought-iron gates waiting to drop, we could both see at least one opponant.

"Can you see anything?" I asked Overdrive as he took a look out of his spotting scope. All I could see was a man with a physically fit stature. He had on red and white garb, toeless shoes, and had a metal bracer on his left arm. That was really all I could tell from where I was. I shifted around and moved closer to try and see past the gate, but that didn't work too well.

Overdrive, still looking through his spotting scope, told me, "All I can tell is that the dude doesn't have a weapon on him. Unless you want to count those long, pointy ears that would make a wood elf jealous."

On cue, I finally caught a glance of the man's long-ass ears. Never before had I seen such length on ears, no elf I'd ever seen had that kind of length. Occasionally I'd see a glimpse of his pointy blue hair or his strange goggles that looked fresh out of the steampunk era.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to another exciting match in the Colosseum!" the announcer blared over the loudspeaker in a stoic voice that I'd become so familiar with. "Today, we have a special treat for you all in this duo battle! Returning to us from places unknown, we have our returning champion Code Oprashunal! And with him is a newcomer to the Planeptune Colosseum. You might have seen him fighting alongside the Faith Breakers, please welcome, Overdrive Excaliburn Mason!"

The crowd cheered heavily, happy to see their returning hero and ecstatic that Overdrive was with me. Once the crowd grew quiet enough, the announcer continued greeting the contenders, moving on to our opponants.

"On the other side of the arena, we have a pair of valiant warriors hailing from Lastation. One's tough and gruff and the other's small and soft, welcome one and all, Flak and Dexter!"

The crowd roared and rose, ready for the blood to spill. The gatelocks were released, dropping the gate down that kept us from entering the arena. Stepping onto the arena's dusty floors, we immediately noticed a large amount of slits in the arena walls. I knew the drill, or rather, buzzsaw, keep away from the walls.

Our opponant looked at us and visually dissected us. On his shoulder was a weird little otter-like thing with goggles and fingerless gloves. Flak and Dexter exchanged glances and the little one I assumed to be Dexter said, "More wanna-bes? I still say we should move back to the country."

The little furball hopped down and approached us ever so casually. I took grip on Grindrix and looked down at the thing.

"What the hell is it?" I asked my partner, not taking my eyes away from the furball.

"I dunno," said Overdrive, taking aim at the bigger target idly waiting further back, "but it's small, fuzzy, and I really wanna drop-kick it."

"Hey! That's animal abuse!" shouted Dexter, pointing a narrow finger at me.

"Really? Would you consider this animal abuse too?" I asked, swinging Grindrix down at a sonic speed and embedding her blade shallowly in the earth. The little muskrat thing dodged out of the way, but I made my point quite clear. It stuck it's tongue out at me and pushed me to violence at speeds that matched my swings.

Flak, no longer waiting patiently, sped forward, dodging Overdrive's arrows that narrowly whizzed by. Approaching Overdrive, he aimed a high kick at the soldier's face. Narrowly dodging out of the way, Overdrive utilized his own CQC and got a hold of Flak's leg and smashed the rest of him into the ground with bone-breaking force. I worked to catch the little rodent, slashing at him and trying to capture him with my sweaty hands. The little bastard was slippery and quite annoying. Whenever he had the opening, he'd bite, scratch, or do anything that'd whittle my health down. I was so busy with the little furry bastard that I didn't even have time to look over and check on Overdrive. From what I could guess, he seemed to be doing fine, taking only a couple of blows here and there. The health bars on my HUD were reliable enough for me to keep my focus on Dexter.

I slammed down Grindrix's blade and managed to cut some of the end hairs on it's tail. It gave me a brief look of anger and then crawled up my leg and clamped it's teeth down. Furious, I tried to catch it with my shaking hands, only for it to slip out of my hand and clamp down on whatever it could get it's teeth around next. Not paying attention, I almost walked into the buzzsaws that began to peek out from slits in the wall as I approached them. Their whirring noises were a death harbinger and, almost out of instinct, I flung myself into a dodge roll forward, catching one of Flak's vicious kicks in my jaw.

Knocked to the ground, Dexter stood on the ground near me and laughed while pointing a little finger at me. I had enough, shaking at the hands and sweating across my face. I made my eyes meet with Overdrive's and smirked, letting him know silently of the idea I had in mind. He made sure his AP was up, and mine was too. I took off into the air with a mighty leap, throwing down Grindrix for my signature move. Increasing in size, Grindrix soon made contact with Flak and forced Dexter to duck. It also hit Overdrive, but that wasn't bad at all, in fact, it triggered his own signature move. Flashing blue and teleporting, Overdrive rested in the air just like me. He took potshots at Flak and before long, with the pressure from Grindrix and Headshot, he was quickly subdued and reduced to a dead corpse on the ground.

But that left one little trouble maker, one that I was going to enjoy tearing apart. It rose from the ground as I collided with it and picked up Grindrix. Holding my axe in both hands, I had my eyes set on Dexter, quickly moving to capture him. Dexter tried to get away but failed. I had his tail pinned with my foot and he couldn't get away again. Cursing and swearing at me, he tried to gnaw off his tail. I picked him up in a tight squeeze that sapped him of air, the crowd chanting, "Finish him! Finish him!"

With a demonic grin, I looked at Overdrive and said, "Let's see if that sniping increased my accuracy any."

Flinging both Grindrix up in the air and Dexter too, I waited patiently for my heavy blade to come back down. Time slowed as I got ready to kick the butt of my axe. At the absolute perfect time, I shot Grindrix like a speeding arrow. Dexter was caught right in the path, Grindrix's head spike piercing Dexter's belly and pinning him to a wall. Coughing up blood and trying to swear at me, he began to scream and shout as a terrifying noise approached from the wall. Grindrix's blade was out of the way, leaving room for a vicious buzzsaw to slowly come out and saw Dexter in half.

The crowd cheered and roared at the top of their lungs, satisfied to no end at the brutal finisher. I raised a hand up to Overdrive, the smiling soldier giving me a high-five as we waited for the ref to come out and hand us our reward. It felt refreshing to soak up a little glory, instead of fighting with nobody to see. A little pride never hurt.

"Wow folks, that had to have been one of the most brutal finishes we've seen in weeks! Give a big round of applause to our winners, they've earned it!" the announcer spoke over the loudspeaker. Very scarcely had he ever had anything to say regarding the end of a match. I felt a little giddy that I had done so well. With that said and done, I retrieved Grindrix and we made headway to the locker room.

/(+::/o\::o)\

The work at the Basilicom was going slower than expected. The work Histoire left behind in her gaming spree really taxed poor Nepgear. Many times she doubted her ability to even partially finish all the paperwork. Compa would console when needed and IF would encourage her, trying to help with the work too. Histoire was a little on edge thanks to gaming withdraw, but she managed.

Compa brought along her egg everywhere she went. Going to fetch Nepgear's tea, she noticed it was rattling around quite a bit. She was a little afraid of when it was going to hatch, but she knew she'd be ready. It was only a small little lava critter, it couldn't be too much for her to handle. Still gripping the egg gently in her arms, she carried Nepgear's tea cup by it's little ceramic handle, being cautious not to trip over herself.

"Ge-Ge, you're tea's ready. Please take a quick break to drink." Compa pleaded with a gentle voice. Nepgear sighed again and set down her pen, nodding and making room for her warm tea. Even Nepgear couldn't resist the smell of Compa's fresh-brewed tea. IF started to want some too, her throat silently begging for something to drink. Settling for a little drink of water, IF continued to work when she could, keeping busy by sorting out papers for Nepgear and shipping off finished documents.

Feeling a shaking and hearing a cracking noise, Compa quickly shot a glance at her egg, still holstered in her arms and shaking violently. "Uh-oh, I think my little egg wants to hatch!"

"G-Goodness! What do we do?" Nepgear asked, staring widely at it while IF kept her claws ready. The cracks were becoming visible on the egg's surface as it finished up it's hatching sequence. A small lava lizard poked it's head out of the egg, peeling the upper half of the egg clean off. It said not a word, made not a peep, but it looked at Compa with innocent eyes. Setting the critter down, it broke the rest of it's shell exiting it's temporary home. A mess was made on the floor, but Compa'd clean that up later.

"Hello little lava creature...thingy..." Compa greeted the lizard. It looked at her with black eyes and a tough outer layer of rocky skin that grew red towards it's legs and tail. Leaping at her, IF almost bursted forth thinking the creature was attacking. She let her weapons down and relaxed when she realized it was just licking Compa. Giggling like a giddy schoolgirl, Compa enjoyed the company of the lizard, but IF knew that the little critter couldn't stay at the Basilicom. It'd just get in the way.

Interrupting the happy moment, IF bluntly said, "It's nice that it hatched, but it can't stay here."

"I know, I think I can leave it at my house and it'll be safe," Compa said without losing her smile, holding her little lava creature in her arms.

IF sighed and pulled out one of her multi-colored cell phones. "I think I can find someone that can babysit the thing while we're gone."

"Would you really do that for me?" asked Compa with a happy voice and a gasp.

"Well, we can't leave it here, and taking it back out in the forest would be a waste," IF stated while texting a fellow Guild member. A quick response from the member showed that he couldn't help, but IF kept searching, sending a few more texts while also trying to help Nepgear.

Trying to multitask between adding her input in the conversation and filing paperwork, Nepgear said with a positive tone radiating in her lovely voice, "If we can raise him right, he could really help with keeping Planeptune monster-free."

"Nepgear has a valid point. Our defenses are lowered way too far right now. The sooner we can get the city protected, the quicker shares will rise back up," added Histoire with a game-winning smile. She kept positive, despite her being just as paranoid as IF about the little critter being in the Basilicom.

IF continued texting people to try and find someone to look after the little fella. After an hour of switching her gaze between paperwork and her cell phone, she finally found a nearby friend that could look after the creature. He was a well known monster rancher by the name of Colt and had good ties with IF. Compa was given directions and sent out to drop off the little lizard, despite wanting to hold on to the little thing a while longer. Walking out of the door, Compa spoke to the little lizard in a soft voice, "I'm gonna call you Spiral the Lizard!"

Rolling her eyes and looking at her phone again, IF realized it was getting late and said to herself, "Probably should give Code a text and remind him to head back."

/(+::/o\::o)\

Sitting on the bench in the locker rooms, I retrieved my axe sharpener and set it up in front of me. Overdrive was having an arguement with that dorky ref that always gives me shit. With my headphones on and playing my music, I patiently grinded away at Grindrix's blade til she was back to normal. We got a fair share of money from the fight, despite it being rather easy. But what was most important was that, instead of getting overly aggressive, Overdrive and I had a lot of fun. We said our 'good game' to everyone, despite not getting anything in response. All in all, I could tell that Overdrive got to enjoy the better side of multiplayer.

Since my grinder was so loud, nobody around could hear me sing away the day's stress, "...can't slow down, can't hold back, though you know I wish I could. There ain't no rest for the wicked, until we close our eyes for good..."

"Singing again? You should hold live shows," commented Overdrive, sitting down next to me with his crossbow holstered on his back.

I chuckled and asked, "I'm really that good?"

Overdrive shared our laughs and jokes until I asked him about what happened with the dorky ref. At first, Overdrive scared me by saying that the ref was dead, but before I could panic, he made sure to let me know he was joking. Turns out that Overdrive gave the ref a piece of his mind. Of course, the ref was such an asshole that he didn't care, Overdrive felt relieved to vent some excess anger on the bastard.

Overdrive's phone began to vibrate. I could tell from the vibrations going across the bench I sat on. He plucked his camo-colored cell phone and viewed a text briefly before shoving the phone back into his pocket. With my eyes still staring at Grindrix's beautiful blade, I asked him, "What's going on?"

"IF says we should be getting back. Compa's fixing supper," He explained, getting up from his seat. I stowed away my axe grinder and stood up with Grindrix resting peacefully on my shoulder. I could tell my faithful blade was ever so happy with the blood we shed in our matches.

"I don't know about you dude, but I could definitely go for some food," I laid a hand on my grumbling stomach, feeling it roar and rumble at my touch.

"With all the money we won today, I think we could feed the rest of the party for a week," commented Overdrive.

I smiled and agreed, opening the door leading out to the shiny streets of Planeptune. The sun was in its descent, casting a darkness over the skies with a hint of orange glow coming from the south. The moon wasn't far behind, peering over the horizon like it was wondering if the coast was clear.

Walking down the streets, the empty and hollow streets, I still admired all the flashy signs illuminating the streets of Planeptune. Night life was majestic in Planeptune, like a city that never slept. Cruising down the lonely sidewalks, we kept our eyes open for any creatures prowling the alleys. Overdrive and I were sure we killed all of them, but still kept our guards up. In the distance, we could see a fight going on between strangely dressed men. It looked like a cosplay riot, but over what? I cared not what they were fighting over, I just wanted to get back and get some food. There was no helping the hopeless.

I felt a strange cold drop hit my sweaty face. I knew it wasn't sweat, it was much colder. Another drop hit me, and another, and another after that.

"Hell dude, it's starting to rain." Overdrive noted as the rain began to speed up. I put the hood up and ran alongside Overdrive through the rain and cold. The night air quickly chilled what the sun had rendered scorching hot and the rain just helped cool things down faster. I almost thought I could see steam rising from the ground.

Slipping and sliding through the damp streets of Planeptune, we managed to make it back to the Basilicom, and soaking wet as well.

"You two must be freezing. Let me get you some spare clothes," Histoire greeted us, leaving us at the Basilicom lobby in wait. The lobby itself was nothing more than a long, grand hallway curved by design into the shape of a 'U'.

Instructing us to the bathroom, Overdrive and I changed into dry clothes that looked suspiciously similar to pajamas. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Histoire was implying something.

I almost accidentally walked to the meeting room when I remembered which way the dining hall was. Overdrive followed me, not knowing the layout of the Basilicom. The smell of distant food grew more and more succulent the closer we got to the dining hall. It quickly doused the smell of fresh ocean breeze that usually lingered in the halls. If it wasn't for the rain tapping against the side of the building, I could probably hear Compa cooking.

Mouths watering, Overdrive and I took our seats at the large and elegant dining table. I sat next to Nepgear and Overdrive sat next to IF. Compa was bringing in plates of food one by one, our greedy hands reaching for food like we were hungry zombies. I quickly filled my plate full of chicken and peas and dug right in.

Overdrive, almost done eating, relaxed in his chair and almost tipped it over. Catching himself, he stretched his body a little and popped his neck with a sickening sound.

Compa quickly shot a worried gaze at him and said, "Don't do that Overdrive! That's not good for your body."

Shying away a little, Overdrive said, "My bad. Force of habit."

We finished eating and dispersed from the table one by one. Only Overdrive and I were still officially eating. We hadn't ate in so long that we began to forget what food even tasted like. I finally finished, Overdrive being the only one left in the dining room. I went to the kitchen to wash dishes with Compa, IF, and Histoire. Before heading inside to help clean though, I told Overdrive that if he happened to see Nepgear, that he should try to help whenever he can.

/(+::/o\::o)\

Overdrive left the dining room quickly after finishing his meal. He was going to see if there was anyplace he could game at for a while before heading to his friend's house to stay the night at. He knew the Basilicom wouldn't allow him to stay the night there, and he had no intention to at all.

"I wish this could be a little faster..." A close voice sighed, the feminine voice muffled but audible through the cracked door leading to the meeting room. Overdrive walked a little closer to listen in on Nepgear talking to herself.

"Goodness, I hope I deleted the right thing..."

Overdrive slowly opened the door, Nepgear immediately looking to see who it was. Speaking with a soft voice and holding her handheld in her hands, Nepgear welcomed the soldier, "Hello Overdrive."

"Something up, Miss Nepgear? Anything I can help with?" Overdrive, standing next to her and looking at her little purple handheld.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm just doing some cleaning." replied Nepgear, rooting through dozens of menus.

Overdrive pulled up a chain casually and sat down, waiting a few seconds and then asking her, "If you need some help, please don't hesitate to ask. Code said, oh what was it..." Overdrive took a second to think about what he was told earlier, "I'm here for a reason. That's what he said."

Nepgear smiled and said, "That's just like him," She handed him the little handheld and explained that she needed any documents past a certain date deleted to make room for future documents. Overdrive nodded and got to work, Nepgear picking up another thick stack of papers and reading over them. It took Overdrive only a few minutes what Nepgear would've taken a week to do. Handing the little machine back, he said as he departed, "Let me know if you need any further help, Miss Nepgear. I'll be up and around the Basilicom."

"Thank you so much Overdrive. I'll let you know if I need anything else. If you need anything too, just let Histoire know," Nepgear gave Overdrive a smile as he left. She checked through her handheld to see if he really did delete everything. He sure deleted everything alright, even those valuable pictures Nepgear took with Uni, Ram, and Rom long ago. Her face morphed into a saddened expression when she muttered under her breath, "I probably should've warned him about those pictures..."

/(+::/o\::o)\

"Thanks for helping Code." Histoire thanked me properly, and I smiled and let her know it was no problem. But before I left, I dug in my pockets and retrieved a little something for Histoire. I knew I'd possibly regret giving it to her, but I felt bad about it.

"Yeah, here's your Dreamtoss back. Just don't get too carried away, okay?"

Histoire nodded and took it back, telling me while it turned on, "I'm really sorry that happened. I promise, no, swear it won't happen again."

I hoped that what she said, she meant. The less work Nepgear had to be put through, the better. Continuing from that, I told her, "We went to the Coliseum today. The competition's starting to have a stronger effect on people. We've cleared some of the creatures inside the city."

"Is that so? My, how things have gone downhill from here. No matter, things will get better, eventually." Histoire replied in a spacey fashion.

"I've also noticed how taxing this is right now for Nepgear. I want-" I paused, thinking of the words I wanted to say. "I want to try and reach out to the people of Nepgear. She's trying too hard with barely any help from the people. I think we've done enough right now to try and restore some of the faith lost."

Histoire's expression dire as every, she replied, "I can agree. And while I appreciate the sentiment greatly, I question how we're going to do something like that."

"I had an idea, a heavy-handed one, but an idea nonetheless."

"And this is?"

I took a deep breath, channeled some calmness, and said, "We kill the power. Kill the power, kill the internet, and bring the people to our doorsteps. And there, we'll have Nepgear say what needs to be said."

Judging from Histoire's expression, she was averted to the idea. "As much as I want to say no to this, I have the feeling this will be what it takes to make a step forward. Any step forward is good. But how will we perform this?"

"Something with a large-range EMP on it can be amplified. I'm sure that I can find something at home to help. We'll have to take this one step at a time, but I have the feeling that we can do this."

"Your optimism is refreshing Code. However, the moral ambiguity of this concerns me. What of the hospitals and banks that require power and internet?"

I had thought of the scenario before, and as much as I disliked abusing the power of the Basilicom, I asked her, "Aren't there some kind of forms to have these important places adorned with backup generators and emergency communications?"

"I imagine I can have something done about it tomorrow."

"Thank you. I hope this isn't too much of a burden on you."

"I won't lie, I really don't want to do participate in this. But at this rate, Planeptune will be entranced into submission. We need the populous to listen and organize a little better." said Histoire.

Stepping out of the kitchen, I could still smell the vivid scent of food wafting around the dining hall. Once I went back to the lobby though, the smell was quickly replaced by that good ol' ocean breeze scent that calmed me. I took a stroll down the hall, aiming for the meeting room. The elegence and sound structure of the Basilicom amazed me no matter how many times I saw it. It was just so well put together that even if it was made out of blocky low-res cubes it'd still be a work of art.

"Nepgear, you in here?" I asked as I pushed open the doors to the meeting hall, peering my head inside with my long brown hair covering one of my eyes.

"I'm still here Code. Come in," Nepgear motioned for me. I stepped inside and noticed that a lot of the paperwork had been dealt with. But at the cost of Nepgear looking all sorts of stressed out.

I sat down next to her and said, "You okay? You've been working really hard."

She sighed and rested back in her comfy chair, bathing in the damp light above. "I won't lie, it's been hard. I'm a little worried that Planeptune might not be able to be saved this time."

"Don't doubt yourself so much. You're the CPU of Planeptune for a reason and you're good at what you do." I encouraged her, brushing aside a frustrating strand of hair from my eyes and resting Grindrix against the table. Nepgear still wore a worried expression, her blank eyes looking at me like she was trying to listen to the sincerity in my voice. I looked her in the eyes and stood up, saying, "Stand up Nepgear."

She was a little confused but did as I wanted her too, standing up with a wobbly shake. She'd been sitting down for too long, that much was easy to tell.

"Now, tell me, who are you?"

Nepgear stuttered, confused about what to do. She spoke with a shakey voice, uttering with uncertainty, "I'm Nepgear..."

"Come on, I need more than that," I continued with a friendly but firm voice.

"I-I'm Nepgear, Planeptune's C-CPU..." she continued with her voice still corrupted with uncertainty.

I crossed my arms and tapped my foot impatiently and told her, "Speak up Nepgear, speak up or you'll never be heard."

Speaking with a little more confidence, she said without a stutter, "I'm Nepgear, Planeptune's CPU."

"Be firm! Let people know just who you are!" I said with a raised voice. I hoped that IF and Compa were still cleaning the kitchen and the dining room so they wouldn't see me pestering the poor girl like a delusional fool.

"I'm Planeptune's CPU! Nepgear!" she said with a raised voice that matched mine.

"Good!" I praised her. "Now, what do you do for this nation?"

"I-" she paused, her confidence falling fast.

I quickly intercepted her fall and said, "Think about it CPU Nepgear, what do you do for the fair nation of Planeptune?"

"I defend this nation and all of it's people from evil," she gave me a blunt answer that provided what I wanted it too anyways.

I stopped tapping my foot and gave an energized gesture, asking childishly, "Is that so?"

"Yes! I'll protect my people at any cost, this is my land and...and..."

"And what?"

Nepgear restructured her posture and said with a sweet and proud voice, "And it's my duty as the CPU to keep this nation strong!"

I smiled, feeling proud of not just myself for pulling her out of her funk, but of her for realizing just who she was. She forgot that title far too easily, it wasn't a title to take lightly, but it was something she was to be proud of. "Never forget who you are Nepgear, you're a good person, a strong one too. Like Overdrive said a while ago, a clan's only as strong as its leader. Be that leader, be Planeptune's sparkling light."

Nepgear gave a cheerful and energized nod and said, "I will! I promise!"

"Good. That's what I like to hear sis. Now, come here. I'm gonna head home soon," I beckoned as I held my arms out to her. Nepgear quickly grabbed onto me and hugged me. Wrapping my arms around her, I felt a warmth in my heart to see her in a lighter position. She would need it for the upcoming events

"Thank you so much..." she whispered.

Finishing our hug, I flashed a smile and said, "Silly girl, you forget so easily. I'm here for a reason, remember?"

Nepgear giggled and sat back down to work hard and diligently.

Picking up Grindrix, I waved goodbye to her and, with a voice of kindness, I told her, "Love ya sis. Sleep soon and sleep well."

"Love you too brother!" she waved goodbye with a smile that I loved to see. Walking out with Grindrix in hand, I looked up to the axe and brought her down to look deep into her blade.

"Did I do good?" I asked my faithful tool of destruction. In her blade, I could see my mother and father smiling bright. Deep inside, I knew I did well, and seeing my smiling parents in the depths of my blade just fortified my happiness. I knew I could sleep well with what I had done and how my sister was feeling. She was a strong girl, a very strong girl, physically and mentally.

Walking home with the Basilicom behind me, I could see nobody around. The monsters in the alleys were definitely dead, the people were still swarming by the arcades, and only I walked down the streets. Bright lights hung around on the sides of buildings and puddles of rainwater blended in with the dark streets. A mist hung around the air, but it was a refreshing one, one that kept my walk back home relaxing. Grindrix slung over my shoulder, I stepped down the sidewalk, my feet scattering water puddles with a soft splash. The lights scattering their lights about reflected off the shallow puddles with a distorted image. It felt so nice to be back home, so I enjoyed what I could of it before we had to go yet again...

/(+::/o\::o)\

IF and Compa both gossiped amongst themselves as they finished up their work. They heard every word of the encouraging speech Nepgear engaged in. IF couldn't believe what she was hearing, she didn't expect Nepgear's beloved 'brother' to have such a positive voice, but she was glad he did. IF questioned if she'd even be able to get Nepgear that pumped up. But listening on their conversation wasn't their only ideal. They had plans for once Nepgear was asleep. They approached the waning Histoire, IF asking, "Hey, uh, do you mind if we ask for some spare parts lying around?"

"What for?" asked Histoire.

"Iffy wants to shut off the interwebz!" Compa stated bluntly, disturbing IF.

IF, wearing a worried expression, said, "You didn't have to say it that bluntly!"

Giving a quiet giggle, Histoire said, "Code was in here wondering if we could do the same thing. I told him that we could do it, but it wouldn't be a 'sound' thing to do. Do you really want to go through with this?"

"Code already thought of it, huh? I suppose he does seem the most determined to put the world straight," IF mumbled to herself. "Yes, we want to go through with this. Could you be able to help?"

Histoire led them to where an old generator rested in its rusty grave hidden deep within the Basilicom. It was only ever used during the last era.

After Histoire left them to the machine, they toiled away for hours, putting together metal parts with confusion and a little discord. They couldn't ask Nepgear for help, or she'd know what they were up to and probably vote against it. IF and Compa chose to take action on their own time and were starting to regret it a little. Their project wasn't only tedious, it was difficult. Tech and hardware wasn't simple for either of them.

"Compa, could you hand me a guerilla wrench?" asked IF from underneath their growing machine. Compa looked around with a ditzy gaze, eventually finding a small wrench that IF needed. She just dropped it in IF's hands, the heavy steel smashing her hand into the ground. IF quickly cursed under her breath and continued working below the steel machine.

"Sorry Iffy! I didn't think it was too heavy," Compa apologized, sitting back down with the chilly wind blowing in her hair. It was a little cold out, but she could manage if what they were doing would truly work...

/(+::/o\::o)\

Nepgear awoke to the sounds of birds chirping and the wind rubbing up against the glass window in her room. Peaceful dreams helped her catch up on much needed sleep, and as Nepgear stretched and yawned, she felt well rested and mentally able. A thump came from her window, followed by more birds chirping. Looking quickly over to her window, she didn't see anything. But once she got closer, she could see birds loading themselves into a poorly made slingshot.

"G-goodness! Are they trying to get in to see me?" said Nepgear to herself. Another little red bird flung itself against her window, colliding with a thick thud and falling back down. Opening her window, Nepgear shouted to them, "Don't hurt yourselvelves! Please, stop trying to break my window."

Almost on command, the little birds stopped trying to fling themselves. Nepgear sighed in relief and said to herself, "Am I really that popular?"

Walking to the dining hall for a scrumptious breakfast, Nepgear straightened her slightly messy hair and looked around for any of her allies. The walk was quiet, but the closer Nepgear got to the dining hall, the better the smell of food got. The door was open, Nepgear walking inside to see Compa eating alone.

"Morning Ge-Ge! Come and eat," greeted Compa merrily.

"Good morning Compa. Uh, where's IF at?" Nepgear asked as she sat down to eat.

After taking a large bite of her pancakes, Compa told her with a calm voice, "IF went to go wake up Overdrive. She wants everyone to go shopping today."

Nepgear was getting ready to get back up when she said, "I should probably get Code up too then. He did go home, right?"

"You can get him once you eat, Ge-Ge, you haven't been eating too well as of late," Compa motioned with her syrup-covered fork for Nepgear to sit down.

Nepgear giggled and complied, sitting down to eat a full plate of food that Compa presented to her. Once she was done, she asked if Compa needed anything. Compa apparently had already gotten her stuff earlier, leaving Nepgear to take a lonely trip to her brother's house.

The streets of Planeptune were, once again, lonely and quiet. In the distance, Nepgear could see people that set up tents outside of the arcades. In her head, she worried about Planeptune's suffering shares. Before she went to bed last night, she checked her shares to see them still in the lower numbers. Thanks to Overdrive and Code's efforts the other night, they did have a bit of an increase, but at the rate things were, nothing would stop more monsters from finding homes in the alleys of Planeptune. Uncreative and competition-centered games flooded the market and any ideas that Histoire would pitch would be rejected.

"If I don't do anything soon..." Nepgear whispered to herself. She couldn't even bare to speak the dreaded words aloud, but she knew what would happen if they didn't hurry and return the Sparks back to Gamindustry, things would plummet to the point of barbarism and all the cities of Gamindustry would be nothing more than ruins hosting tribes and barbarians.

/(+::/o\::o)\

I wasn't quite asleep as I was resting with my eyes closed. This was thoroughly disturbed as a sudden surge of light flooded into my shielded retinas. I reeled back and shielded myself with my arm while shouting, "Bright light! Bright light!"

"Goodness! I'm sorry, really sorry!" Nepgear apologized, shutting the door behind her and going over to me.

Still holding my arm over my eyes while they adapted, I said without thinking, "Aren't you supposed to knock before you enter? Or at least warn me before you blind me?"

"I'm really sorry Code, I didn't think about that," Nepgear shied away.

I let my arm down, my eyes finally readjusted to light. I shook my head and smiled at Nepgear, letting her know that I wasn't mad or anything.

Nepgear looked around like she was confused, mainly looking at the front of my house. I raised a brow at her and once she noticed my own confused expression, she asked, "Don't you have windows on the front of your house?"

"Yeah, but I covered them up with tin-foil. Keeps the light out when I'm gaming," I explained. Nepgear lifted up my drapes to see the window covered up by layers of tin-foil.

"Gaming in complete darkness can't be healthy," said Nepgear, looking at me with a worried expression written all over her face. There was still little bits of food around her mouth, making it hard for me to take her seriously, but I tried my best to muffle my snickers.

"I have to have it dark in order for me to see my game," I explained, trying to get away from the subject. I knew it wasn't good for me to game in absolute darkness, but I couldn't help it. My vision wasn't as good as it once was.

"Have you considered getting glasses? I think you'd look nice with glasses," Nepgear said with a food-encompassed smile, holding her hands together as she sat down on my comfy couch.

I returned the happy gesture and said, "You wouldn't look half bad yourself, sis."

Nepgear blushed a little and asked, "You really think so?"

Nodding a little, I gave her a gentle pat on the head and asked her, "So what brings you here? I doubt you came just to turn my lights against me."

"I'm really sor-"

I cut her off and said with a very calm and clear voice, "It's okay. It's not like I'm gonna get mad."

Nepgear nodded and continued saying, "IF and I are gonna go shopping and want you and Overdrive to join us."

"Mkay. Let me get my laptop," I got up from my comfy couch and walked over to my workbench. Scattered wires and projects lay atop it, still waiting for my return. My laptop was my very first completely finished and working project. Using some spare parts I purchased, I put together one of Planeptune's cheapest gaming laptops. And one of the smallest too, I had a little holster inside my hoodie that I had stitched in for the little thing. The laptop had retractable parts for easy storage. I normally wasn't fond of having such a tiny screen or keyboard, but I made do.

Nepgear was curious that she never saw my laptop before, nor had I ever mentioned it. "I didn't know you had a laptop," she said with her head cocked to the side like she was trying to be confused and cute at the same time.

Putting my laptop in it's special pouch, I thought back through the adventure and realized that I really hadn't mentioned my little laptop. With that thought, I explained to Nepgear, "I've had it for a while, so I guess I never thought about mentioning it. Yeah, this thing's custom built and one sturdy little machine," With my laptop in my pouch, I plucked Grindrix from her mount and walked out of the door with Nepgear happily in tow. She shut the lights off and closed the door, following me through the empty streets of Planeptune.

Feeling a little jazz in my step, I felt energized by the gentle breeze flowing through the streets. It was a nice day out, the sun occasionally peeking out of clouds glowing with sunlight. It was like that sunny morning after a long night of rain. Nepgear smiled and walked beside me, happy herself just because I was happy...

/(+::/o\::o)\

IF played with her phone most of the way to where Overdrive supposedly was. The sun would occasionally peek out and when it did, it made it hard for IF to see her phone's screen. Complaining that she needed a better phone, she almost stepped straight into the middle of the street. Had it not been for the sun blinding her vision of the phone, she would've been roadkill. Secretely regretting her bad habit of walking with her nose in her phone, she hoped that nobody saw her. Then she remembered that nobody was even around to see her.

"I hope Nepgear found Code's house. It's been a while since she'd been there," said IF to herself, texting Nepgear and asking her if she was okay.

Nepgear was quick to reply, texting IF, "i made it 2 codes house fine. im with the whore right now."

IF's eyes widened at first, surprised at what she had just said, then texted Nepgear, "TURN UR AUTOCORRECT OFF!"

Replying in record time, Nepgear texted, "OMG please dont tell code i said that, please! i meant 2 say i was at the store right now. please please dont tell code i said that!"

IF told Nepgear she'd pretend it never happened, just like all the other messages Nepgear's phone corrupted. But under her breath, IF snickered and said, "That's so going on the internet."

Assuming she was at the right house, IF walked up a pair of steps and knocked on a steel door with a small stained glass window in Planeptune's likeness. A distant, food-filled mouth shouted, "Come in!"

IF walked into a room filled to the brim with gaming memorabilia. Overdrive gamed at a couch stationed extremely close to the TV, a coffee table filled with dozens of Creature Energy cans off to the side of the couch, making the cans just barely reachable by Overdrive. The hardened soldier gamed with eyes opened wide and focused on the TV.

"Get your fill of gaming?" asked IF, putting her phone away and watching Overdrive's flawless performance.

"Yeah." Overdrive replied simply, eating out of some strange mechanism attached on his controller. IF moved a little closer to see what the hell Overdrive did to his controller. Attached to the back of the controller was a little machine that fed cereal bars to him while he gamed, a small button on the bottom of his controller moving the cereal bar closer to his face.

"Dude..." IF sighed.

"What? When man is hungry, man shall eat!" Overdrive shouted in his defense, not caring if he woke his snoozing friend up that was passed out on the stairs leading to the second floor. In his friend's pale hand was a pitcher of alcohol with the label "Dragon Bitter" on it.

Looking back at Overdrive, IF remarked with a humorous cynicism, "I don't know whether to commend your creativity or be concerned about your laziness..."

Widening his eyes, Overdrive shot IF a faux surprised stare, "IF? Concerned? Hot damn, the world must be ending!"

Normally IF would want to slug him in the arm, but even she had to laugh at Overdrive's usually concealed humor. Going along with his joke, IF told Overdrive, "Take your eyes away from the game a while and take a look for yourself."

"Ha! Funny joke is funny." Overdrive replied. He actually did turn off the console once he finished his game. Bidding his drunken friend farewell, he left the house and followed IF through the empty streets to meet up with Nepgear and her 'whore'.

/(+::/o\::o)\

Nepgear and I waited outside for IF. Normally Nepgear'd know exactly what to pick up, but since IF was a bit picky when it came to snacks, Nepgear wanted to wait to actually shop. I patiently typed on my laptop, Nepgear playing around with her phone until it was about dead. Done with that, she looked over to my laptop just as I had finished typing.

"What are you working on?" asked Nepgear, watching my screen like a curious ten-year-old.

I pressed enter and felt a little burden relieved deep inside me. "Just finished updating my blog. You can take a look if you want"

"Okay," Nepgear took my computer as I handed it to her. I expected nothing bad from letting Nepgear looking at my blog. I had it for years and always updated it, despite nobody ever reading them. I was lucky if a single blog entry had more than five views, three of them being from me.

Nepgear's eyes widened a little and her face grew pale as she entered the website. Choosing to just look over the background picture, she focused on the well written blog posts, littered with interesting photos and the occasional video. They were all tagged with the blog's title, "Steel Seraph".

"I never would've thought you were such a good gamer," Nepgear said to me, looking at brief clips of the displayed Let's Game videos. Somehow the videos were more popular than the blog itself.

"I've had my fair share of gametime," I told her bluntly.

"Hey Gear, what are you looking at?" asked IF as she approached and sat down next to Nepgear. Overdrive looked down behind Nepgear to see what she was looking at.

"It's Code's blog. Could you tell me what some of these words here are?" Nepgear politely asked, handing IF the laptop. IF grew stunned at something that I couldn't see.

Reading the blog titles aloud, IF struggled to pronounce the words, let alone tell what they meant. "Empyreal Effulgence, Propitious Renascence, Lunatic Enigma? I've never even seen these words before, how should I know what they mean?" IF asked.

"Hey Code, what do these words mean?" IF asked.

"Better question, where'd you get that sweet background pic?" asked Overdrive with a devilish smirk. IF flashed him an unamused glare and Nepgear struggled to sound out the words I used to mark my blogs. That was my head-turner, the extremely foreign words. I didn't mind that they didn't understand the titles, most nobody did, but I cringed when I finally realized that I'd left that half-nude girl as my background from when I got a little too wasted on Dragon Bitter one night.

"Let's ignore the naked lady and focus more on grocery shopping, eh guys?" I plucked my laptop out of IF's hands and shut it down, putting the little thing in my hoodie pocket. IF rolled her eyes and Nepgear stretched her legs and arms as she got up and led the troop through the almost empty store. Nepgear clung to me and acted very suspicious, like she was hiding something. I couldn't help but feel like she was covering something up, but what got my attention more was that she was so open to me. It kinda felt like a queen being sweet and kind to a peon. Not that I was uncomfortable, it felt so great to see someone being so kind to me, but I knew something was up.

"Hey Code, I got you something," Nepgear approached with her hands behind her back. I was doing my own shopping with some of the money that Overdrive and I won, so I had no idea of what Nepgear could've had. She holds out her hand in front of me, holding a bottle of Lastation imported sarsaparilla. I smiled from ear to ear and took a good look at it when she dropped it in my hands. It was indeed some of Lastation's famous sarsaparilla!

"Thank you so much!" I hugged her and stowed away my sarsaparilla, putting it in my pocket. Nepgear went about her business again and a wild Overdrive appeared.

"What'd she give you?" he asked.

I smiled happily and said with a proud tone, "She got me some of Lastation's sarsaparilla."

He gave me a disgruntled look, eyeing me like I was stupid or something. I asked him what was wrong and then had me repeat what I had just said.

"Why do you call it Lastation? With an 'a' like in sofa?" Overdrive asked in an interrogative voice that made it sound like I was stupid.

Innocently, I asked him, "Isn't that how you pronounce it? I've always said it that way."

"It's pronounced with an 'a' sound as in apple." dictated Overdrive.

"I've always seen people say it with an 'uh' sound."

"Tellin' you, it's said like 'a' in apple."

"Says the one with the fruity accent. Who knows how many words you pronounce wrong."

"What are you two idiots fighting about?" IF interrupted our argument, approaching with a hand basket full of fruits and meat.

"Code, say Lastation," said Overdrive, using his version of Lastation like that was the only right way to say it.

"Lastation." I said, using the version I'd used for years.

With an accusing expression aimed at me, putting me in the spotlight, Overdrive made his example and asked IF, "Isn't that the wrong way of pronouncing Lastation?"

IF crossed her arms, her basket of food following her motions as she moved. Thinking aloud, she said bluntly, "Neither of you are wrong. It can be pronounced either way. I've heard it pronounced both ways."

"What?" Overdrive shouted in disbelief, "I'm sure all the people reading this say it my way, I'm sure of it."

"You're as sure of yourself as you are full of yourself," IF shot back at him with a childish smirk.

"Need some burn heal, bro?" I joked. He just stormed away down the halls to complete his shopping. I looked over at IF with a smirk that matched hers and said, "Gotta give it to ya, that was a good one."

IF continued smirking as she walked down the aisles to find the rest of her shopping list. I didn't have much I needed as far as food went. I only wanted some Creature Energy. 'Cause you can never have too much of a good thing. That and I also wanted some more sarsaparilla, but when I got there, they were fresh out. I assumed Nepgear had gotten the last bottle, which made me love the girl even more.

Finishing our shopping a lot later than intended, we made our way back to the Basilicom for some supper and R&R before having to head out again. We sat down and ate, conversing and chatting like a party should. Nepgear told the story about the crazy birds trying to get in her room. Overdrive added to that by telling about when Overkill had one of the crazy birds blow up on him. Histoire managed to put her Dreamtoss down to eat luckily. I asked her if she'd been keeping the gaming under control. She told me that she'd spent most of the day working on finishing up the rest of the documents. When I asked her if the rest of the day was spent eating or going to the bathroom, she grew nervous and a little quiet. Finishing up my food, I silently wished to myself that I could've done more for my nation, I noticed that two members were absent from the table and they weren't working in the kitchen.

"Hey sis, where are the others at?" I asked Nepgear who was messing around with her charging phone. She looked up and realized herself that IF and Compa were gone. Histoire then came back into the dining room with a frantic look, saying with an edgy voice that was unbecoming of her, "Nepgear, we have a slight problem. There's a mob forming outside the Basilicom."

Her and I quickly got up from our chairs and ran over to the Basilicom doors, looking out of their small windows. It was like a flash mob had formed right at the doorstep. Never handling that kind of situation, I naturally panicked.

"What should we do?" I asked Nepgear.

"I-I dunno! G-goodness, how'd this happen?" she replied with a frantic voice. Histoire motioned for us to follow her upstairs, to the Basilicom tower. I didn't understand what she wanted us to do, but I followed her nonetheless. My brain rushed around too many thoughts at once and I became a little lightheaded, but I followed Nepgear up the stairs. We almost tripped over ourselves while Histoire just floated up effortlessly on her little tome.

Up at the top of the tower, the other missing teammates were found, along with a large and strange machine. Assorted shouts came from below, complaining about things like internet failure and LANs not working and the arcades malfunctioning. Putting the pieces together, I realized what they did and wasn't too fond of their method.

"Looks like you guys took my idea," I remarked to IF in a whisper that the whipping winds around us muffled enough for Nepgear to remain unaware of our conversation.

IF nodded firmly and said, "The end result will, hopefully, be the same."

I didn't agree with their methods, but bitching could come later. Apparently that little machine screwed with Planeptune's multiplayer services and shut down the arcades, making the people quite angry and immediately looking to the CPU to fix it. Nepgear, still in a frenzy, started to grow scared and even depressed a little.

"Come on Gear, you gotta do something to calm them down." IF told her, offering little help.

"U-uh, everyone. Please c-calm down so I can t-talk..." Nepgear tried to speak to the group. They just grew even louder, chanting in a unified voice, "Give us our multiplayer back!"

"Iffy, this isn't going as planned!" Compa harshly whispered in IF's ear. Overdrive primed an explosive arrow and launched it to the side of the group, exploding loud enough to shock them. Luckily nobody was hurt.

Looking straight at Nepgear, Overdrive said in a deep and serious voice, "Speak now if you ever intend to speak at all, CPU Nepgear."

"You've got this sis, I believe in you. You can do this. Let them see the error of their ways," I said to her, standing beside her just as Overdrive did.

She took a deep breath, built up what confidence she could get, and shouted to the crowd in a proud voice, "Everyone! The internet's shut off because of what's happening to Planeptune. Our shares are getting lower and lower every day because nobody does anything but compete. It's fun to do occasionally, but can't you all see what it's doing?"

"We don't care what's happening, give us our multiplayer back!" the crowd shouted back.

"There's more to life than just the competition! You can play games, but don't let it control you so much! Our nation is falling apart because of this competition, can't any of you see what it's doing to us? Have you all forgotten what gaming's about? Quit fighting and take a look around!" giving it her all, Nepgear continued her speech. She looked to me and Overdrive, both of us giving her encouraging nods.

"Gaming is about the fun of the game. You don't need to compete for anything, just play the game for the joy and fun of it. The spirit of the game still exists, but if you all keep pitting yourselves against each other, that spirit will suffer and so will this nation. So please, for our fair nation we are so proud of, drop the competition!"

Controversy and conversation spread amongst the mob. They chatted and, while some disagreed heavily, at least half of the audience was ready to try something different for a while. Nepgear feared the worst, holding her head down as the cold winds blew her hair around.

"Don't feel obligated to be the best at the game!" Overdrive shouted out loud in a determined and proud voice.

"Feel obligated to enjoy the game to the fullest!' I added with a mighty shout, raising my axe high.

"Embrace the spirit of the game!" our trio of speech-givers shouted together.

Some of the crowd pumped their fist in the air, choosing to take our side, while the others that didn't grumbled to themselves and left the mob. I had bad vibes coming from those that grumbled away, but at least some of Planeptune was ready to try taking gaming to a different level. As the rest of the crowd went back to their business and their homes, I looked at Nepgear and said, "I'm damned proud of you Nepgear. You're the CPU this nation needs."

"Good speech, CPU Nepgear," Overdrive complimented. Compa and IF added their compliments, then apologized for causing the whole mess in the first place. Histoire led us back downstairs, the cold air was getting a little nippy.

"What's wrong Cody? You're getting that pale look again." asked Compa.

"I've got bad feelings coming from the ones that didn't like what we did." I told her bluntly. We entered the lobby, standing before the doors to the Basilicom.

IF added with a grim tone, "I have to agree with Code. I wouldn't hold it past them to do something stupid and hurt Histoire or somebody else trying to turn on their internet again."

Stepping forward with a proud stance, Overdrive said, "Let me stay behind. I'll make sure Histoire and the rest of Planeptune stays safe."

"We couldn't just leave one person to guard a whole nation, could we?" asked Compa.

"I'm sorry, but I have to agree with Compa. We need you in the group." Histoire agreed with the airhead, something that alone seemed like a bad idea.

Overdrive stood before Nepgear with a determined look half-hidden by his navy blue hair. He kneeled down in an honorable fashion and said, "Please CPU Nepgear, allow me the honor of watching over your nation and its Oracle. I'll defend this nation with my life, please."

It was hard for her to say no. He spoke in an undeniably sincere voice that shocked everyone. Smiling, Nepgear said, "You're free to stay Overdrive. Take care of the nation and Histoire."

"Thank you. I swear, I'll do my very best," He rose up quickly and saluted Nepgear stiffly. Going along with him, Nepgear also saluted. The two finished and Histoire helped him settle into one of the guest bedrooms that wasn't going to be used past our stay.

"You really think that was for the best, Gear?" IF asked.

A hint of doubt was in her voice, but for the most part, Nepgear spoke with trust laid in Overdrive when she said, "I know he used to be one of our enemies, but I know he's found the right path. He'll take good care of Planeptune, I'm sure of it..."


	16. Together We Fight, Together We Win!

Hanging over the edge, rocks tumbling down the jagged rocky hole, everyone struggled to hold on for dear life. Nepgear wore a distressed expression as her hand slipped, leaving her with only a single hand to save her from the beast below. Gray light poured down into the cavernous hole, illuminating the yellow troll waiting for the heroines to drop down. It held it's massive club made of an unearthed tree anxiously, almost shaking at the palms.

"Crunchytroll wait as long as need. Crunchytroll want food!" the troll shouted with a low-pitched voice.

IF, sacrificing her grip to restore Nepgear's, shouted with disdain, "Just how did we get into this mess again?!"

"Let's recap, maybe that'll clear up confusion that the readers might have!" Compa suggested, breaking the fourth wall with ease.

"Do we really have time for that?" IF raised her voice as another rock crumbled down the hole.

"I don't see why not, I don't think we're going anywhere anytime soon," Nepgear stated, to which IF just sighed under her breath, "Might as well, people are probably wondering where our big-axed bruiser went..."

I~~Attack~~-+-+-+-~~ Magic ~~I

I~~ Item ~~-+-+-+-~~Summon~~I

Packing her things, IF sorted through clothes and such. For once, she didn't need to help Nepgear or Compa pack, the two finally figuring it out themselves. The next stop was to Leanbox to try and find the last Spark needed to complete the Sparkholder. How they were going to put the Sparkholder back into the ground was beyond IF and she knew that simply digging a hole and burying it was out of the question.

Feeling something plastic in the pocket of her spare trench coat, IF dug a flailing hand down in the deep pockets. Her hand hit something solid and immediately pulled it out.

"Wow, I wondered where that went," IF chuckled to herself, admiring one of her old cell phones. It was plastered with 5pb stickers, something she had a habit of doing when she first got some of her phones. Flipping it open and pushing the red button to turn it on, its screen flashed white before displaying a picture IF took long ago of her and 5pb. The icons and shortcuts on it were old and unupdated, but the phone seemed to work fine.

Thinking aloud, IF asked, "Why did I stop using this one? Seems to work-"

She was cut off as a strange text popped up. The sender wasn't named by name or number, but once she opened it, she knew exactly who sent it. With a simple note, the message said, "Reach Leanbox in 3 days," and it was signed by someone named The Reaper.

"Now I remember why I stopped using this." IF said to herself, clicking the delete button. No matter how many times she'd try, the message couldn't be deleted, like it was the spam message from hell. Shutting the phone off, she put it back in a little cabinet in the room and pretended it didn't exist.

A knock on the door grabbed IF's attention. With her eyes trained on the door, she shouted, "It's unlocked."

I opened the door and peeked my head in, asking IF, "Almost ready yet?"

"Pretty much. I'll meet you at the entrance to the Basilicom, shouldn't take me long," She told me. Once she realized it was me, she quickly went back to packing her clothes, something I didn't try to focus much on. I had the feeling if I saw her unmentionables, my unmentionables would be hanging from a tree later. Closing the door behind me, I walked back over to the entrance to the Basilicom, Histoire and the others bathing in the bright daylight. I perched myself up on the guard rail and soaked up the luscious warmth.

"Well?" asked Compa.

I turned my head to face her and said, "She'll be out in a minute."

A moment of silence passed as we waited and enjoyed the sun's warmth. It felt like a truly nice day, not a cloud in the sky, a warm summer breeze drifting by, and the occasional few people wandering about the streets of Planeptune.

"Feels nice out here," commented Nepgear, holding her fluttering purple hair away from her eyes.

"Getting some sunlight is good for you too," Compa added in her chapterly medical phrase.

The Basilicom doors opened and out came IF, her inventory stacked with her extra clothes and gear. Speaking in a rushed voice as she closed the door, IF said, "I'm good to go."

I hopped down from my perch and our adventuring quartet stood before Histoire and Overdrive. Saying my last farewells, I held an open hand out to Overdrive, "Take good care of Planeptune, k?"

Shaking my hand with a noble stare aimed at me, he said in his most determined voice, "Can do soldier."

"Take care of yourselves too," Histoire added in, keeping her nose out of her Dreamtoss just long enough to see us off. I prayed to whatever god was out there, even to the CPU, that she'd never see the world of competitive gaming.

"Thanks Histoire. Take care, see you later," Nepgear bid farewell, just as IF and Compa did. Waving goodbye, we walked down the active streets of Planeptune. Cars would peacefully roll down the streets and commoners talked to each other and even sometimes greeted Nepgear. I knew that her speech the other night did a helluva lot of good for the nation, a lot more than I thought it would.

"Iffy, stop playing with your phone while we're in town!" warned Compa, pulling IF away from almost walking into an intersection. The cars would've mowed her down in a second's notice had Compa not been watching over her. Wearing a sheepish smile, IF stowed away her phone in her belt and kept her eyes on where she was walking.

Nepgear seemed the most cheery out of us. Her smile went from ear to ear as she hummed to herself. Looking over to me as she walked to my left, she asked with a curious voice, "Hey Code, can I try on your headphones?"

The question was a little spontaneous, but I didn't mind. It took me but a few seconds to rewire the headset out of it's little cord holder mounted on the interior of my hoodie. Handing her my headset, I played a random song downloaded onto the headset.

It looked a little awkward for her to be listening to the headphones with the cord still leading into my pocket. It was like she was on a wire-leash kinda.

"She sure is in a good mood," IF commented, knowing Nepgear wouldn't be able to hear her.

I smiled and said, "It's great to see her this happy though."

Compa nodded her head in agreement. All the while we walked, Nepgear bobbed her head to the sides and would hum aloud to the music. I just shook my head and smiled, as did IF. Approaching the eastern side of the city, we saw the gatehouse leading to Castlescape glistening and gleaming, reflecting the warm sun's rays and making the metal house shine.

"Do you know where exactly we're going in Castlescape?" I asked IF as we walked through streets and down sidewalks to get closer to the gatehouse. Luckily Nepgear was tethered to me or she'd probably end up wandering into a busy street by accident.

IF was about to pull out her phone when Compa gave her a quick stare that suggested that IF keep her phones in their safety pouches for the moment. "Well I was researching a safe route on my phone, but I had to put it away." IF complained. "Oh well. What's life without a little adventure?" IF tried to look on the bright side. I had to agree with her and, once we neared the gatehouse, I also plucked my headphones back from Nepgear, giving her a smile as I put my headphones around my neck.

"Enjoy the music?" I asked her. Nepgear nodded and smiled, looking back to the gatehouse. Asking with a confused tone, Nepgear questioned if they were at the right place.

"This is it Ge-Ge. At least, I think this is it. This is it, isn't it Iffy?" Compa asked with her head cocked innocently to the side.

IF squinted her eyes and slowed her walking to check the sign on the gatehouse. They were indeed in the right place, the sign reading, "Castlescape Checkpoint"

Walking inside, we could smell fresh steel and herbs blend together into a nostalgic scent. Our HUDs all flashed colors and a rather strange messaged appeared telling us that we needed to "reorganize our party positioning and status."

"IF, what's this thing talking about?" asked Nepgear.

"Yeah, I've never heard of anything like this. Should we be worried?" Compa questinoed, her HUD also flashing with the same message. A fluttering spell went through my heart, something bad was running through me.

IF's face twisted to a concerned expression. Her voice even sounded a little worried as she explained briefly, "Basically, we're getting class reassignment. And one of us will have to be a summon if we're going anywhere."

Compa and Nepgear exchanged glances. They understood what was going to happen, but they all thought in their minds on which person should be the summon. Tension rose up, and so did my voice as I said, "I'll be the summon."

"Are you sure?" asked IF, "There's no reversing this until we're outta Castlescape."

I felt it, the worry in my heart. "I wont be right there to protect Nepgear at all times," I thought to myself with discontent. I knew it was for the best though. "I have faith in her friends that they'll take care of her."

Nodding, I sifted through a few menus on my HUD, my status being reassigned. Before I faded away to become the designated summon, I looked at Nepgear with a loving glance and smile and said, "Just whistle, and I'll come running."

Nepgear smiled back and accepted the role as the party's designated summoner. AS per to taking up the role of summoner, her ability to use HDD was replaced for access to her summoning abilities. Her sword she carried around flashed with an intense bright light as it changed to a greatsword. Compa accepted the role as the white mage and IF took command of the rogue class. With a flash of light, even the clothes they wore changed around to meet their class. IF remained relatively the same save for a few added plates of metal, but Nepgear and Compa enjoyed the restructuring of their clothes into medieval-style battle garments. Nepgear wore a star-themed traditional summoner's robe and Compa wore a long dress with a moon pattern. She also enjoyed the white witch hat perched atop her head in exchange for her headband. Reassigned for battle in Castlescape, the girls opened the door leading back out into Castlescape. The sun immediately changed to that of midday sun, it's shade leaving shadows dotted across the floor.

With eyes of admiration searching about with the midday sun glistening in them, Nepgear and Compa looked around the majestic scene. Little orbs of colored light flittered around the grassy meadow and panting wolves took refuge by the occasional lush oak tree. Mysticism inhabited the meadow like a peaceful plague and all was well from the looks of it. In the distance was a thin forested area with brightly colored and interesting fruits growing off of them. Scattered around the meadows were occasional streams and ponds visited by the local wildlife.

"What are those things?" IF asked as a little orb of light came closer to them. Once it was in sight, the group could tell that the lights were actually dragonflies, radiating a magical light of assorted colors. One of the small dragonflies flew up to Nepgear, buzzing close to her. She held out her finger and the creature perched itself on it.

"Alright nature queen, let's keep moving. We've got alotta ground to cover," IF said to Nepgear, walking past her and towards the distant forest. Bidding farewell to the little insect, Nepgear caught up with IF.

"Keep your eyes peeled. Examine your surroundings," said IF, moving her head and eyes around and watching everything that was around her. Nepgear took her advice and Compa asked, "So that we don't get hit by a surprise attack?"

IF took a moment to squint her eyes and look at a watering hole in the forest they were approaching. Wildlife was around it, but it didn't look like there was anything else. Done looking, IF said in a matter-of-factly voice, "Kinda. I also want you to look out for that one overpowered sword that's gonna be guarded by a helluva boss if we miss it and have to retrace our steps."

Compa couldn't argue with IF's logic, but she somehow doubted that an extremely powerful sword would be around the first level. They entered the magical forest, a wave of serenity passing through one last time before a mysterious vibe resonated through the tall oak trees nearby. Nepgear didn't quite like it, Compa was more focused on the plants and herbs, and IF was always at the ready in case they were ambushed.

Grunts and groans slowly surfaced, hidden by the thick bushes and growth of the forest. The girls were being watched and they knew it. Hidden in the gentle chirps and noises of the forest was a malicious intent, one that suddenly dropped down from the trees above and revealed itself as a strange green orc-like thing.

I~~Attack~~-+-+-+-~~ Magic ~~I

I~~ Item ~~-+-+-+-~~Summon~~I

~A Nork appeared!~

~Nepgear uses Plasma Lance~

~It does 350 damage~

~IF uses Complain~

"Would you kindly not draw this out like a damned JRPG?"

Secret Code Entered.

Once she was done complaining, IF lashed out with her claw at the Nork. Tearing a wound in it, the green creature fought back, mumbling something incomprehensable while it lashed out with it's spear. It nailed IF in the knee, but she's quick to fight back. With Nepgear launching misaimed bolts of plasma, the creature was forced to stay still and try to beat back IF. It's crude spear was no match for IF's claws. She ripped the spear out of it's hand and finished it off. The body of the Nork just disappeared into thin air, just as all bodies do in RPGs.

"Eep!" a distant shout caught IF's attention. Quickly turning her head around, IF saw nothing in place of the scream. After that, a strange green vine snatched up Compa and took her away. While IF was watching the capturing of her friends, she didn't notice the Nork behind her with it's wooden club raised high. Without a second to think, IF turned around as she saw a shadow come down and knock her out.

"Hurhurhur...teh boss iz gunna be happy wit all deez wimminz." the Nork said to himself crudely as he hoisted IF over his shoulder. Taking off for the depths of the forest, he didn't even look back or wait up for his gang mates...

I~~Attack~~-+-+-+-~~ Magic ~~I

I~~ Item ~~-+-+-+-~~Summon~~I

IF woke up with the taste of wood and dirt in her mouth. Her hands and legs were bound by rope, as were Compa and Nepgear. She could also smell the vivid stench of the Nork's poor hygeine. Spitting out the nasty gunk, IF looked up with her blurry vision and asked impatiently, "Where the hell are we?!"

"Silence human!" a voice bellowed with a vulgar sound. "You are standing before Gnasty Dork, the meanest Nork of all the Midday Meadows!"

"Um, Mr. Dork, we aren't standing," Compa points out the obvious, aggravating the already aggresive Nork.

Shouting at the top of his phlegm-filled lungs, Gnasty Dork said, "I said silence human!" The Nork looked at one of his spear troopers and nodded his head towards the tied up trio. The trooper walked up to the trio and, one by one, began looting their pockets. "Haha, now Gnasty Dork will steal all your valuable stuff!"

IF gives the Nork a surprised expression and asks, "Why didn't you loot us while we were tied up?"

"Because...because..." the Nork stuttered, "Because we wanted you to watch!"

Having enough of being tied up, IF waited for one of the Norks to lower it's spear closer to the floor. The creatures were careless enough to do exactly what IF wanted it to. Suddenly leaning backwards, IF got the ropes that bound her arms to hit the end of the Nork's spear and cut her bonds. Free at last, IF ignored the rope burns on her wrists and cut her teammates free.

Gnasty Dork's eyes were ready to pop out of his head. Nepgear took off for one of the few soldiers set up around the makeshift camp and Compa fully supported the two with healing magic and buffs. Slashing and cutting away, they easily dealt with the little Nork minions surrounding Gnasty Dork. With Nepgear and Compa backing her up, IF grinned demonically as she held her claws with a vice grip.

"You're all out of minions and it's our turn to fight. Hope you enjoy overkill." said IF with a wispy voice that chilled Gnasty Dork. The Nork gathered his loose armor and took off at a fast speed into the depths of the forest. "Hmph," grunted IF, "Well that takes care of that. Let's get to looting."

"He sure sped off fast," commented Compa.

Nepgear giggled and added, "It reminded me of a certain peon we used to know."

IF rolled her eyes and smiled as she plundered a shallow barrel for some food. All that was there was an apple and some piles of cheese in it, but it was enough to stave off their hunger meters that would occasionally pop up on their HUDs. Nepgear found a Poison Bracer that IF immediately took up and Compa found a single Healing Potion. Adding their collections to the group inventory, they took a look around the isolated camp and wondered where exactly they were. IF managed to get lucky and spot the little watering hole they saw earlier far off in the distance, so they weren't too far from the path leading forwards.

Wandering through the thick trees and over droopy bushes, IF couldn't help but worry about her hunger meter. It was a nice and realistic touch to the RPG experience, but it kept her a little worried. Thinking deeper about it, IF asked aloud, "Is it just me, or is it a little creepy that our HUDs can tell how hungry we are?"

Compa smiled and said, "That's just the awesome advancement of medical technology!"

"It's still creepy." replied IF bluntly.

"It's advanced!"

IF smiled nervously and said, "I think you're missing the point a little."

Compa shrugged and Nepgear giggled as she stepped over another low bush. They stepped back onto the plain dirt trail bordered by bright oak trees. The midday sun still peeked through occasionally and lit up the dark brown dirt trail. Walking with a beat in their step, they enjoyed the most of the scenery while keeping alert and vigilant, ready for the next attack. Nepgear would occasionally worry that her sword wouldn't do much damage, then the other girls would encourage her. IF grew annoyed still at her friend's discouraged outlook, but she'd always give a friendly smile afterwards and remind Nepgear that they were a party and they were going to look out for each other no matter what. Her eyes gazing off in the distance, Nepgear noticed a tall mountain of snow in the distance.

"Are we going to be climbing that?" asked Nepgear, holding a flat hand over her eyes to block out the sun while she watched the mountain slowly approach.

IF tried to check her phone again for the tenth time, constantly forgetting that she had no signal out in Castlescape. She let out a sigh and then went to address Nepgear's question. "As far as I can tell, our path is going to take us straight through the heart of the mountain. If I remember right, that there is Mt. Gold and it's supposedly home to some pretty nasty creatures."

"Why are they nasty? Do they not sleep well at night?" Compa asked with her head tilted to the side and her mage hat falling to the same side. IF sighed and explained to Compa what she really meant. They had their eyes focused on the change of scenery not far ahead. Rocks began to replace what borders the trees had made. The branches above soon opened up to let in the sunlight that slowly faded as they approached the mountain.

"Are you kidding me?" complained IF, looking at the blockade of rocks that had apparently tumbled down from the side of the mountain. Even the hardly visible cave entrance was jammed shut by rocky debris.

IF sighed loudly and tried to think of what to do next while Nepgear and Compa looked around. Out of the corner of her eye, Nepgear thought she saw something dart away from the forest border behind them. "Hey, I think I saw someone."

Nepgear bid them to follow with a hand sign, rushing off for where she saw the creature or whatever it was dash away. Her sight wasn't reliable enough to confirm where the tracks led, but IF was well trained in tracking.

Speaking with an interested voice while her eyes scrutinized the tracks, IF noted to the wondering Nepgear, "Yeah, you saw something alright. I don't trust that it's human, but it looks like it knows where it's going better than we do." IF's eyes pointed to the scattered tracks and trampled shrubs that formed a makeshift path they could follow.

Back in the forest they went. The light above shone brilliantly for hours, like the sun was stuck in one position. The path before them was a simple dirt trail with borders of oak trees with the greenest leaves on them. Sunlight poured in through the occasional hole in the shield of leafy branches above and the whole route seemed to radiate a serene brightness. But despite all the light that illuminated the way, none of the girls noticed that, hidden inside the forest floor, were traps a plenty.

Even IF's light step couldn't keep her from stepping down onto a wooden trap trigger that shot a crossbow bolt at her. The speeding bolt barely missed her head, but upon looking to see where it was fired from, another bolt triggered by Compa shot into IF's shoulder. Compa made a quick jerk as if she was going to rush over and help IF, but IF shouted, "Stay where you are! We don't know how many traps are around here, look very closely at where you step. Usually a discoloration in the floor will reveal where a trap is."

The other two girls blindly stepped around while closely examining the floor when they weren't dodging blades and bolts that appeared out of nowhere. With traps everywhere, the trio wandered off into their own paths to avoid harm. IF was the only one that could tell where traps were normally placed. Stepping past a tree, she didn't notice another change in the floor, her swift feet accidentally triggering a trap hidden in the leaves. A wall of spikes flung up and IF only had a few seconds to think. Stepping to the side and laying her back up against a tree, IF narrowly dodged the quick trap.

IF sighed and said, "I'm getting real sick of these pointless traps..."

Upon saying that, IF leaned forward with something brushing her hand as she stepped forward. Turning her head to face her hand, she noticed an old paper on the floor. Minding her hands and feet, she snatched the paper off the floor. One side was blank, but when she turned the paper over, she saw something that made her cringe. The paper had child-like scribbles drawn with black crayon and it read above a little stick figure, "Don't look or it takes you".

"Iffy? What's wrong?" Compa tapped on IF's shoulder, making her jump a little. IF turned around with a startled expression, calming down when she realized it was just Compa. Quickly looking at the paper IF had, Compa stated, "That looks like Ram and Rom's work. But why would they be putting papers way out here?"

"Somehow Compa," said IF, "I don't think this was Ram or Rom's work." IF took a minute to think about all the people that could've left the paper. Not a lot of children were even able to go visit the Castlescape checkpoint, let alone enter solo, so nobody from Planeptune could've done it. It had to have been somebody already native to Castlescape. Looking around quickly, IF asked Compa, "Wait a minute, where's Nepgear?"

Compa shrugged and as soon as IF was about to say something, a head of purple hair popped up around one of the trees. Nepgear wore a stunned and confused look, walking closer to the trio while keeping her eyes glued to the ground. There were likely still a few traps lingering around.

"Ge-Ge, you should see this drawing. It looks like Ram and Rom made it," Compa said with a cheery tone unbefitting for their eerie situation.

"You two found one too?" Nepgear quickly asked. IF just did notice that Nepgear held a similar paper in her hand. She passed the paper on to IF and let her take a look at the paper she found. It had the same kind of scribbles, but the words were different. The hastily scribbled words read, "Always watches. No eyes"

IF looked up at Nepgear and was about to ask where she found when she noticed there was something tall off in the distance. She knew what she had seen, but all it took was a single blink for the tall thing to vanish. Taking the best course of judgement, IF suggested, "We should move on. But keep your eyes on the floor. We're not out of the woods yet."

Wearing a nervous smile, Nepgear asked, "Was that a metaphor or literal?"

Rolling her eyes, IF told her, "Just pay attention to where you walk."

They trekked through another section of woods before finding the end of the makeshift path made by whatever it was that Nepgear saw. The side of Mt. Gold was a little clearer and IF thought she could see a cave formed into the side of the mountain. As far as they could tell, they were past all the hidden triggers and tripwires dotting the forest floor. IF still worried about the strange tall man she saw, but once they neared the mountainside, she was more concerned about how they were going to climb up.

"Somebody's definitely been through here. There are still footprints in the dirt," Nepgear pointed out. IF and Compa could still see the path made up the hill and used those as a guide. They still were traveling by mere guesswork, but they'd gladly take that over blind wandering.

The dirt was thick and the higher up they went, the colder it got. Pebbles and small boulders would flee down the mountain as they ascended. The cold dirt soon became frigid snow and the midday sun quickly disappeared behind a grey expanse of sky.

"Good thing Code isn't here, or he'd be having a fit," IF joked. Nepgear smiled and hoped that her brother was okay wherever he was.

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I~~ Item ~~-+-+-+-~~Summon~~I

I didn't understand what just happened. I faded into nothing, then appeared in a strange land of utter fantasy. Some of the land was dark, some was light. Strange mushrooms and trees and flora and fauna dotted the strange expanse of even stranger creatures. One in particular, a large black humanoid dragon with a strange wheel spinning on his back in between his massive wings, stared right at me before rushing forward towards me. His footsteps could be felt as vibrations through the grassy ground beneath my feet. He was at least three times my size, but he was quite bulky. I readied myself, holding my axe in front of me with the blade reflecting the soft summer sun high above.

"Stay your blade, newcomer," The black dragon said in a deep voice. It wasn't a frightening sound, but rather, a stoic voice. His enormous stature was a little intimidating, but I hoisted Grindrix over my shoulder and took another quick look around.

"Where the hell am I?" I asked bluntly. Another strange creature neared me, looking a little more humanoid than the towering dragon standing before me. The other creature was a feminine-looking creature with blue skin. She radiated a cold spell and had long blue hair braided and captured by multiple pieces of strange rings and pins.

"Don't disturb the young one too much! I warned you that I would take care of the next newcomer," the female said with a whisper-like voice that seemed to drift through the cold air around her.

The dragon looked over to her and sharply replied, "I don't see why I can't greet the newcomers too, I don't bite."

"I'm confused. Would someone care to explain?" I asked with little patience and a lot of confusion.

"Sorry newcomer. I am Sheeva, a resident of the Spirit Plain," the female explained with icy breath, "This is Bahumat. You are probably a new summon for Castlescape, am I correct?"

I nodded my head and tried to keep my eyes focused. The odd scenery was a little much for my eyes, but I could see in the distance that there were quite a few residents of the Spirit Plain. They would screw around and frolic in the fields and forests scattered around and some would be flying high in the cloudless sky. I told the queen of frost, Sheeva, "Yeah, I'm a summon for the CPU of Planeptune."

Bahumat and Shiva exchanged surprised glances and asked me, "Is that true? Is there really a CPU in Castlescape?"

I nodded and said, "She's on a quest to restore order to Gamindustry."

Bahumat's expression turned a little grim and Sheeva put a blue hand to her chin as if she were thinking to herself. Bahumat surprisingly spoke first and noted, "We've noticed that the amount of violence in Castlescape has increased."

Shiva, building off of what Bahumat said, added, "Former heroes, demons, angels, gods and goddesses, they've all been taking up arms and warring against one another. Us summons usually only get to go out and see Castlescape when we're summoned to fight against our former friends and allies."

I took on the same grim expression Bahumat wore. Even in the land of RPGs and fantasies, battle has become common and competition was all that mattered. "No matter though," I said with a little optimism, "Nepgear's working hard to make things right. I have faith that she'll prevail."

The two spirits radiated a positivity once more. Sheeva, out of her thinking trance, said, "If you believe that the girl has the power to succeed, she'll have our faith as well."

"Thanks. So, can one of you show me around this place?" I asked kindly. Sheeva motioned for me to follow her, Bahumat bidding us farewell as he took off for the skies. Dust and dirt scattered as he launched upward with his mighty wings. As I followed Sheeva towards the brighter side of the Spirit Plain, I finally asked a bothersome question.

"Are those train tracks?"

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"Keep going everyone. We're almost there." encouraged IF. The trek was long and harsh and a blizzard had started, lowering the teams accuracy. Luckily, the only enemy along the way was a small ice troll that really only wanted to ridicule the group rather than fight. Regardless, IF slaughtered the troll with ease and little remorse.

There was a small clearing and flatland where the cave was. It was hard to see in the blizzard, but IF could easily spot a figure standing before the caves. It quickly whipped around and shouted in a feminine voice, "Who's there?!"

"We're travellers trying to get to Leanbox. Is this the way through Mt. Gold?" asked IF with her voice raised over the whipping mountain winds. She found it a little hard to breath at the altitude they were at, it didn't help that snowflakes constantly flew into her mouth.

"You may not pass through here! These are sacred grounds, to trespass is to defile my ancestors!" the woman shouted as she came closer to the group. Nepgear and Compa could see her clearly now that she was closer. She wore fur armor with a plated skirt and mountain climbing boots tipped with claws from a feral beast. Her flowing orange hair matched her hood made of a fox's skin. Nobody could see her eyes past the shadow made from her hood. She held in her hands a spear made of an extremely sharp dragon's fang.

"Please furry lady? We really need to get through here!" Compa pleaded to the warrior.

The woman grew aggravated and gritted her fanged teeth as she shouted, "My name is Bur Zerch and I am the guardian of this mountain! I will gladly die before letting you trespass!"

IF scoffed and said, "Those sound like fighting words."

Still gritting her teeth, Bur Zerch barked, "I'm not playing games child! Leave or we will fight!"

Lowering her claws and entering a fighting stance, IF shot back, "Let's fight then, but don't start button-mashing when things get real."

Lunging at them with her spear, Bur Zerch scattered the trio as they retrieved their weapons. The tip of her spear barely missed the dodging Compa. Nepgear approached from behind, forcing her feet through the thick snow, and slashed at Bur Zerch. The fur warrior was quick, her agility thrusting her out of the way before Nepgear's steel blade could make contact. Compa, using her intuition, casted Haste on Nepgear to speed her up a little. Unlike IF, Nepgear had a heavier weapon that would be hard to use against a quick weapon.

"Go Ge-Ge, attack!" Compa cheered. Normally Compa would try to help, but being a delicate white mage meant she had to save her AP to heal the others and not herself. Bur Zerch saw this as the trio's weak point and charged through the snow towards innocent Compa.

"Crap, not the mage, not the mage!" IF complained to herself, trying to trodge through the snow and get to Compa. Bur Zerch stabbed forward with her spear, dealing heavy damage to Compa. IF got a pair of claw swipes on Bur Zerch, cutting through her thin fur armor with ease. Blood poured out of her open wound, but like a feral beast, she fought on.

Directing and all out offensive from two sides, IF bought Compa enough time to heal herself. Nepgear's increased speed helped her nick the fast beast warrior a couple times. Fed up with the duo, Bur Zerch stabbed her spear into the ground and kicked away Nepgear. Then, plucking it from the ground, Bur Zerch charged her spear with a magical energy. She hurled the spear with a ferocious might at IF, piercing her stomach with it.

Compa, busy helping up Nepgear, panicked at the sight of IF taking such a heavy hit. Bur Zerch dashed forward, planted a foot on IF's chest and pulled her spear out before keeping her distance from IF.

Her normally focused will broken, IF shook with rage. Blurred vision made every person she see an enemy, lunging forward at whoever was closest. Her bared claws clanked against Nepgear's sword as her eyes glowed red with fury.

"IF stop! It's us!" Nepgear shouted, holding onto her sword with shaky arms that threatened to give out. Bur Zerch was readying herself for another beastly charge and IF couldn't tell friend from foe anymore. Compa, having read of IF's situation once before, quickly casted Esuna using the last of her AP. IF blinked as her eyes returned to normal and she realized what she was doing. Her fury subsided, IF turned around with her claws scraping off the steel of Nepgear's sword. Taking a grip on Bur Zerch's spear, IF forced the tip down to the ground and snapped off the upper half of the spear, wood cracking and snapping as Bur Zerch stopped her charge.

Never before had Bur Zerch seen her favorite status ailment cured and panicked at the sight. IF took the spear head and hurled it right at Bur Zerch, the tip piercing into her eye. Bleeding and half blind, she could only watch as IF finished her. Sweeping her feet out from under her, IF jumped into the air and thrusted her elbow into Bur Zerch's windpipe, crushing it and rendering her breathless. Compa and Nepgear kept their distance from IF in case she was still afflicted with her status ailment.

"Relax guys, just got a little mad was all," said IF with a nonchalant tone. Compa and Nepgear smiled and let the problem slide, heading inside the cave to escape the harsh snowstorm raging outside. Drips of water echoes down the cave to pierce the eerie silence embodied in the empty caverns. The darkness inside made it impossible to see far. Compa summoned a pair of light orbs to help guide the way, but even those had limits.

"It feels wet in here," said IF, checking her skin. It felt like the air itself was replaced by a moist residue and made it a little hard to breathe.

"At least it's warmer in here."

"Yeah," started IF as a monster cried out in the depths of the caverns, "it's also a monster hive in here too."

"It's nothing we can't handle though," said Compa. Her bright side was ruined when a pair of green crystaline hounds pounced on both IF and Compa. Their teeth made of pointed gems reflected the dim light from IF's dropped cell phone. Luckily she had it out or Nepgear would've been left in the dark. Gripping her sword in both hands, she swung at the hounds of emerald. It didn't do much, their hardened bodies reflecting the majority of the blow, but it at least freed the girls from the gem-like claws of the Emeraldogs.

IF held her arm that had a nasty cut down the side and staggered back while she recovered. Compa was going to heal her, but IF shouted, "Don't worry about me, scan those things and figure out how to kill them!"

Compa was only a second away from defying IF's orders and healing her beloved comrade, but Nepgear thought fast and healed IF with a potion. Since it wasn't the hound's turn, they stood idly by until it was time for them to strike again.

Using her AP, Compa scanned one of the hounds and figured out how they worked, their attacks, and their weaknesses. Her face turned pale as she asked, "Iffy, I don't suppose you still have your fire spells."

"Yeah, I have them," stated IF, quickly using her AP to unleash Demonic Inferno on them. It was a large radius attack, damaging both of the Emeraldogs. The dogs exchanged glances and fled for the deeper caverns. IF wasn't about to pursue them, but she made sure to watch every corner they took closely. Somewhere along the way, IF could see in the distance, a deposit of adamantite was clustered in the wall, untapped by human hands.

IF's eyes glowed and her mouth formed into a smile. Rushing off with reckless abandon that was unbecoming of her, she scoured her inventory for the tools she knew she had. With a well-made pickaxe in hand, she reared back her axe and was ready to strike.

"You need a mining level of 70 to mine this," flashed a message in red just before IF could strike the rock. Her face contorted into one of shock and disgust.

"Sonuvabitch!" IF shouted, her voice echoing down the caverns. Nepgear and Compa both wore sheepish smiles and chose not to vocalize the giggles they were struggling to keep in their minds. IF stored her pickaxe with a pout and joined back with the group.

"These caverns go pretty deep..." noted Nepgear, her sword holstered on her back. She sighed as she wondered what her brother was doing.

"Yeah, we've been winding through here for hours, where's the bottom?" IF complained sourly, her eyes still fixed on any upcoming corners. The echoes of distant drops of water hitting the floor made it tricky for IF to tell if there were any more hounds nearby. Whenever the beasts walked, their paws on the rocky ground made it sound like a quiet landslide. For creatures of rock, they were pretty stealthy.

They made it around yet another corner, but before them wasn't another long hall of cavernous stone. No, what they entered was a large cave with little tunnel entrances etched into the sides. The moment IF stepped foot in the cavern, she thought aloud, "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Nothing happened all the while they crossed the cavern. The coast seemed clear and the only noise around them was that damned dripping water echoing down the caves. The exit to the large cavern was mere steps away and when all felt safe, a rumbling noise came from behind them. That little rumbling noise quickly turned into a cascade of moving rocks filling the room with their rigid sound. The trio of girls gripped their weapons and readied themselves for an arena-style fight. The Emeraldog's green glowing eyes slowly appeared out of the holes dug into the cave wall.

IF, eyes focused and her claws dropped down for attack, wore an annoyed look as she said, "At least it's not a boss rush..."

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I~~ Item ~~-+-+-+-~~Summon~~I

The train moved along with little to no sound, speeding around the Spirit Plains with ease. The tracks it glided on so easily were a little deformed. Just right for a deformed train.

"Okay, so this is a living train? I'm not just hearing things?" I asked Sheeva for the third time.

She rolled her eyes impatiently and said, "Yes, this is Deathtrain. He's a resident here and our main source of transportation. At least," Sheeva wanted to glare at Bahumat if he was around, "for those without wings."

"Relax child, you are safe in the hands of the Deathtrain," the train said in a low voice. It made it's presence known frequently, like it was a lonely spirit happy to talk with someone for once. But its name was a little unnerving, even though it's demeanor was far from deadly.

I could only imagine what people in Gamindustry would think of a talking train that looked like something out of a horror movie. Its orangish paint job stuck out like a sore thumb anywhere. "So could you explain just what happens when I'm to be summoned?"

"You'll be encased in a sort of magical bubble. Don't worry, the transfer is outright painless. Next you'll be zapped straight to the world of Gamindustry. Intro cutscenes are optional. I will warn you though, when you enter the world of Castlescape as a summon, you'll find that your body will be much different. You'll have new powers and weapons too." Sheeva explained with her icy breath. She innocently dangled her feet while sitting on the bench in our train car.

I pondered on the whole "painless" thing. Not knowing as much as I'd like made me a little paranoid, but Sheeva seemed like she was trustworthy enough. I didn't want to make enemies, so I just patiently waited for my time to aid my sister.

"You seem troubled," said Sheeva, seeing my grim expression as clear as the crystal shards floating near her icy aura. "Don't worry child. Your summoner will hold fast, I'm sure of it."

I grinned and said, "She's a fighter alright. I just hope that my trio isn't getting into too much trouble."

With that said, I felt a strange sensation bubbling around me. My vision was clouded by a quickly forming blue bubble of magic. A power like no other surfaced around me as my body absorbed a strange manifistation of energy and destructive magic.

Smiling, Sheeva stated, "It's time to shine child. Give it your all."

I~~Attack~~-+-+-+-~~ Magic ~~I

I~~ Item ~~-+-+-+-~~Summon~~I

IF and Compa struggled to even stand, let alone fight. The Emeraldogs were relentless in their assault and would come out one after another. One would fall and another would join the fight, assaulting the trio without hesitation. Worry swept over the trio until they remembered just what little Nepgear was capable of.

Shouting without a second to waste and a Emeraldog almost taking off her hand, IF yelled to Nepgear, "We're gonna need Code pretty damned fast here, I think it's time to give him the spotlight!"

"What spell is that?" asked Nepgear with a worried glance. She held off another Emeraldog with her hardened sword as she asked, "Do I have the MP for it?"

Pinning down an Emeraldog with her foot, IF quickly explained, "It's your Blood Knight Ritual. You can cast it at any time, no MP needed!"

Nepgear flung away her attacker and moved to open ground, near the center of the field. IF and Compa took shelter to the side, making room for the summon. Shoving her sword deep into the stone she stood on, a black glyph formed on the ground in the shape of a bladed gaming controller. A dark portal spawned before Nepgear as a loud rumbing came out.

Stepping out of the portal, I found myself at the same size I was before. There was certainly more energy in me, and I could feel strength surging through my meager muscles. Thick plates of armor settled in over my baggy hoodie, increasing my defense ten-fold. The only thing that was necessarily different was that I had two battleaxes instead of one. And that made me happy.

"This is the power of a summon?" I questioned aloud, forgetting about the whole reason I was called upon.

"Code, could you please take out these creatures? Please?" Nepgear asked with an innocent voice.

I looked around to see that the only person still around was Nepgear. I assumed that IF and Compa took shelter for the moment. There wasn't anything holding me back from protecting Nepgear while we dealt with the Emeraldogs that still tried to floor the caves. First thing I noticed about the problem was the spawn points. That took the first priority, quickly telling Nepgear, "We need to destroy the supports holding the caves up!"

Nepgear nodded with her determined expression, heading to the first cave of five that were scattered around the room. The only thing I could think of to do was to just cut up the edge of the hole's entrance. Nepgear kept the Emeraldogs off of me while I forceful shut the entry ways with my axes. The sheer power crumbled them with ease, but I quickly went over to Nepgear to ease the pressure off of her. IF and Compa stayed far behind, away from sight, likely due to summoning restrictions.

"We need to move to the next one," I told her, all whilst trapping a dog's head in between the blades of my axes, decapitating it with one swift move and kicking away the body into another dog. We repeated our process three more times without a problem, but my time was drawing to a close. I could see it on my HUD. I had to speed up the process, but I wasn't sure how. And I sure as hell didn't want to leave her behind with another cave to deal with. Taking up as much strength as I could, I launched my axes at the cave and told Nepgear, "Use your Radical Saber on the axes, that'll take it down. I'll keep you covered!"

She ran off with all six remaining Emeraldogs aimed at me. I had the aggro, leaving Nepgear plenty of time to take out the remaining cave entrance. The first dog leapt at me, missing entirely while the others ran forward with claws at the ready. Picking up the first dog out of the air, I grabbed its crystalline body and slammed it into three other dogs. Fist-fights weren't my thing, but I had enough strength to at least crush their heads. Which I did twice to my enjoyment.

In the distance, I heard Nepgear call her move with vigor, and I could only assume that she succeeded. I hoped that she did, because my time was up. Swallowed whole by a black portal, I shouted in my last words before departure, "The way is clear Nepgear, do your best!"

She waved goodbye to me as I left back for the Spirit Plain. The glyph tying me to the world faded and IF and Compa rejoined her.

"I think he had a little too much fun killing them off," smiled IF nervously.

Compa nodded in agreement and added, "I don't remember Code ever being that strong! He must've taken some strong vitamins!"

"He certainly classifies as OP now," joked Nepgear as she took the lead down the next cave. Compa still had her light orbs around her, lighting the way ahead. Along the way, IF noticed another little cove of adamantite in the distance, mocking her with it's dull green color poking out of the rocks. The stalagmites hung down lower and lower the further they walked down through the cave complex. To their luck, the caves were sloping upwards, meaning their exit couldn't be too far away.

A rumbling beneath their feet startled them, the ground shaking and rocks tumbling. Dust seeped from the roof as the rocks making the ceiling began to crumble and fall. Coughing up aged dust that poured from above, Compa asked, "What's happening? Did we trigger a trap?"

"This isn't a trap, this is called a cave-in and it's gonna squish our asses if we don't start moving. Come on everyone!" shouted IF, taking off through the winding cavern maze. She instructed Compa to keep her light orbs farther ahead to illuminate the way. The orbs would occasionally be filtered by the falling dust and boulders would fall down from above, threatening to crush whoever was below. Bats shrieked as their homes fell apart and even the Emeraldogs would rush out of their homes to escape the collapse.

IF swerved out of the way of another falling boulder as she dashed forward with Nepgear and Compa right behind her. She could feel the boulders brush against her jacket that flapped in the wind she effortlessly cut through. "Of all times for a damned cave-in..." IF complained under her breath.

Approaching a steep cliff, IF's face grew sour as she shouted, "You gotta be kidding me!"

"Let's go IF, we're gonna get crushed if we don't go," said Nepgear, being the first to start climbing. Her fingernails were quickly tipped with aged dirt that coated the jagged rocks of the cliffside. The darkness was getting thicker and thicker as they climbed. When Nepgear briefly looked down, she noticed Compa starting to struggle in her movements. Her light orbs began to fail and darkness wasn't waiting to conquer their vision.

Her hands bound to the cliffside, Compa couldn't reach for a mana potion. IF couldn't get mad, she knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, but of all times, that was the worst. Shouting over the still constant rumbling, IF said, "Just keep your hands open for a handhold and make sure it's stable before climbing up!"

Nepgear was about to hoist herself up when the rock in her hand slipped out of the cliffside and fell down, smashing into the ground with a rigid echo. Nepgear didn't dare look down, even though she couldn't see to begin with. IF had to help Compa keep going, but in doing so, she left herself open to attack. A cave snake in it's cliffside nest snapped at IF's hand, missing once before hitting her hand dead on. Reeling back, IF swore silently to herself as she tried her best to quickly suck out the venom before she became poisoned or paralyzed.

"Keep going," Compa coughed up a cloud of dust, "Iffy! We're almost there!"

"How do you know for sure that we're almost there?" asked the confused IF.

Compa didn't have any response, her words were more for encouragement. IF kept climbing despite her hand bleeding red liquids down her arm. It was warm and IF found it distracting, but they really didn't have much further to go. Nepgear was already at the top and ready to help the others up. Holding a hand out, she pulled up IF first and then Compa. With only seconds left until the whole cavern collapses, the trio sprinted for the distant light ahead.

The falling rocks nipped at their heels as they ran. They leapt for the light ahead, their feet barely making it out before the cave fell in on them. They gasped for air taken from them by their whirlwind sprint, laying with little energy on a patch of grass. All three of them had their eyes aimed for the darkening sky. The stars began to dot one side of the sky while the sunset's orange glow illuminated the other side. There weren't as many trees around, but the grass they laid on felt moist like it would be after a long rain.

"We gotta quit making close calls like that," Compa sighed with her breath still returning as slow as her mana points.

IF laughed and said, "You make it sound like we have a choice in the matter."

"I wish there was more choices in that matter, I'm not built for running!" Nepgear said distressingly. IF and Compa giggled with their returning breath.

Almost half an hour passed of just watching the sky above. It was entrancing to them, so peaceful and majestic. All three of them spaced out with their eyes fixed sky high. Once they had their breath caught up, Compa stood up and healed the other two, along with herself. It didn't take long to get everyone back in shape and ready to continue the adventure.

Voices of wonder and magic sung in the farthest distance. Chanting of ancient forest guardians would accompany the echoes and even the trio's wet steps through the marshland couldn't silence the magic melody flowing through the gentle breezes. There weren't many trees, but there were enough to make a sort of forest, with trees as old as time and space itself. In the distance though, was a devilish sight. IF could see glowing red eyes mounted into a far off tree. But in Castlescape, the ents weren't just troublesome, they were outright deadly. The grassy patches in between the trees stretched for miles in every direction and most of the grass was submerged by shallow pools of water that would go all the way up to the girl's ankles.

With a loud squish, IF cringed at the sight of her boots being defiled by the murky marshland water. It was bad enough that she had just bought herself a new pair of boots back in Planeptune, but she could already feel the soles being worn out, her feet growing moist with every step she took.

Shadows cast by the low hanging branches would block out the sunset in the distance. Nepgear and Compa almost started walking in that direction until IF pulled them back to the group. Treading through the thick waters, IF began to feel some resistance somewhere in the murky water.

"Ugh. Anyone else having trouble moving?" asked IF, her movement slowing. The mud hidden in the depths of the shallow pool began to move around to capture IF's boots. Nepgear and Compa suffered the same fate, saying things like, "This water's thicker than it looks." and "I think I'm getting stuck."

A noise hit IF's ears like the peaking breeze, a buzzing noise to be exact. IF sharply turned her head to the side to see a little girl hovering in the air, hoisted up by paper-thin wings. The nature fairy smiled and turned around to shout, "We've got some. Come on!"

"Oh boy, here we go..." sighed IF, still trying to break out of the mud that chained her to the ground. Nepgear couldn't get her sword out and Compa didn't have any offensive spells, leaving any offense to IF. She only had some basic fire spells, but that would have to do until they could free themselves.

A squad of nature fairies buzzed in, weaving through the thick trees dotting the marshland. A hovering flame spawned in IF's hands, one in each palm, and she slowly breathed in and out, focusing her eyes on the incoming attackers. Launching the fireball at a fast pace, it soared through the air and slammed into one of the incoming fairies. A single fireball was enough to kill one of the fairies, but IF knew there would be quite a few of the little things wondering around. Fairies were never known for traveling alone.

"Go Iffy, you've got this!" Compa cheered, still trying to free her left hand from the side of the muddy water.

IF gave no response to Compa's cheers, though she still appreciated them. Three more groups of fairies dashed through the marsh, IF speeding up her attacks and launching fireball after fireball. It was a mini-game from hell for IF, because every fairy that got too close would barrage one of the party with sharp needles of wood, dealing heavy damage. IF struggled to refrain from using a vital potion on minor wounds, but if anyone got hurt too much, she wouldn't hesitate to heal them up. Compa was still struggling to get her staff and her arm free of the muddy water. She had a rope packed in her inventory, but she'd need both hands to access it.

Another rush of fairies poured in from the woods, a small army of them on their way and IF was running out of MP. "I'm getting a little tired of this mini-game!" complained IF, using the last of her mana to clear out the horde.

"I'm almost free!" Compa cheered, wiggling her arm through the sticky mud. IF struggled to keep even a small fireball going and the three of them were sitting ducks in the mud pit. At the last fairy, IF exhausted every little ounce of mana to kill off the forest creature. Her mana drained, they were officially helpless unless Compa could free herself.

Her hand finally free, albeit muddy, Compa dug into her inventory and got a rope out that she passed to IF. IF was better at tying a knot than Compa was. The last time Compa tried tying a knot ended up with her almost having to amputate a hand. IF made the rope into a lasso and threw it up to the tree branch above her. Using the right leverage, the girl used her strength to pull herself out of the muddy water and swing to shore.

"Here you go you two, try not to break it," said IF, passing the rope to Compa. The other two pulled themselves out and felt relieved to stand on something more stable. There was enough physical land around for the girls to take an alternate path around the submerged parts. They really didn't want to try that minigame again, so they avoided the flooded lands at all costs. It made their trip a little longer but at least they'd save themselves from any further harm. The nature spirits fled at the sight of the girls, partially because they knew they were weak against fully enabled opponants.

Up ahead, hidden amongst the thick, overgrown grass was a strange brown object that was a different color than anything else around the lands. IF assumed it to be a creature or a trap while the others speculated what it was aloud until they neared it. Looking closer, the strange and long brown object was revealed to be a worn out canoe with a large hole in the bottom. Past that canoe was a majestic, crystal clear lake stretching far outwards. The shores were all visible, save for the ones right before the girls.

On an island in the middle of the Clearspring Lake was a magnificent mansion, dyed red by the crimson moon lingering above. The mansion looked large from the outside, making the girls eager to explore it.

"Hope someone here has a high construction level," IF stated bluntly, kneeling down to examine the old boat while the girls gazed upon the grand mansion in the distance.

"What's a canoe doing here in the first place?" asked Compa without a single speculative thought in mind.

Nepgear, also kneeling down to look at the canoe, said, "It wouldn't be unlikely that people would ferry others across the lake. This might just be an old canoe the ferryman ditched for a new one."

Nodding, IF said, "Gear's got it. So, how are we going to fix this thing?"

Compa smiled and said, "That's easy! There's a lot of trees around we can just chop down."

Saying not a word, IF stood up, walked over to a thick tree, and punched it with little force. Her hand plunged into the tree and as she pulled her hand out, she revealed the tree to actually be a hollow willow tree. "I somehow doubt that this stuff would get us much farther than if we swam. And I don't know about you, but I don't trust the waters here."

"Maybe we could ask for some wood from the ent over there?" Nepgear suggested, her eyes narrowed at the distant ent. Its eyes glowed red from the evil energy shooting through its wooden body.

IF looked at the same ent and said, "Yeah, like he'll be kind enough lend a hand."

"Was that sarcasm, Iffy?" asked Compa in a sweet voice.

IF rolled her eys and replied with, "Don't worry about that. Anyways, if we're gonna get some wood, we're gonna wanna get moving. Come on you two."

Nepgear and Compa obeyed silently, holding their weapons in a relaxed grip and watching where they stepped at all times. Sometimes Compa would stop to pluck a mushroom from the ground or gather some glowing moss, stating it's for crafting. IF wasn't about to deny her, but she hoped that the mushrooms weren't sentient or anything like that.

They were only a few meters in length from the giant ent that towered over them. It was larger than any oak tree the girls had ever seen and it really stuck out amongst the paler trees surrounded by the marsh waters. The ent noticed the girls immediately and asked in the voice of a cranky old man, "What do you whippersnappers want?"

"We need wood to fix our canoe. Could you help us Mr. Ent?" Compa asked in the sweetest voice she could muster.

"I ain't givin' ya nothin'!" the ent sharply replied, his voice as cracked as his wooden body.

IF cracked her knuckles, smiled, and said, "Looks like we're gonna do this the hard way..."

The ent had already lost it's patience and slammed a large tree branch down on the muddy ground near IF. She launched out of the way and swiped her claw at it's "hand". Nepgear added in her attacks too with Compa helping with buffs.

"Hit 'em hard Ge-Ge!" cheered Compa, casting an attack buff on Nepgear. Looking over her shoulder, Nepgear smiled and thanked Compa, not paying the least bit of attention to the ent's mighty branch descending upon her position. Hitting with a bone breaking force, Nepgear took massive damage that Compa had just enough MP to heal. Once the ent lifted it's branch, Compa quickly healed up Nepgear while IF distracted the beast.

"Be careful, you don't want to end up stuck in the ground like your sister do you?" Compa asked with a giggle.

Nepgear's limbs were stiff as she stood back up. Still a little wobbly, Nepgear picked up her sword and said, "I'm sorry Compa, I'll be more careful I promise."

Trying to keep her distance and watch her step at the same time made fighting in the marshland hard for IF. She was afraid to use fire on the ent in fear of accidentally burning the much needed wood. But with the ent swinging around it's many branches in a crude fashion made it hard for IF to keep up. Her MP and AP saved up, she used Demonic Inferno, setting one of the ent's massive tree branches ablaze. The ent moaned in pain and tried to flap around it's arm to put out the flames. It's arm was so massive that it couldn't move it fast enough and was forced to try and submerge it in the shallow pools of water nearby.

"Gear!" shouted IF, her eyes focused on the nervous fighter, "Hit its arm as hard as you can!"

Nepgear was a little nervous. The ent was powerful, and if she screwed up, it'd be lights out for her. The ent was much higher level, so she couldn't afford to mess up.

"You can do it Ge-Ge! Do your best!" Compa cheered, IF anxiously awaiting for the girl to begin her attack on the ent's still submerged branch. Nepgear rushed towards the branch, charred in several spots. Using all the AP and confidence in herself she had, she used Mirage Dance and cut straight through the ent's wooden arm. Moaning in pain, the ent couldn't even work up the power to attack with one of its other branches. Waving around the stump where his hand once was, the tree spirit gaped it's mouth while moaning.

Taking a firm grip on the wooden hand laying on the floor, IF beckoned for Compa and Nepgear while shouting, "We've got its hand! Let's go!"

The girls all helped pick up and run off with the large branch. As they ran away, the ent finally shouted, "They took mah hand!"

Another ent far in the distance shouted, "They took yer hand!" with another ent following up with the same sentence but with more slur. The ents eventually formed a chorus as they shouted, "They took yer hand!"

IF grinned as she led her party back to the canoe. "This should be more than enough to patch that old canoe up."

"I feel kinda bad for the ent though," Nepgear piped up, holding the slippery tree branch loosely.

"He'll grow it back." IF shrugged off the problem and focused more on moving forward. Their voyage through Castlescape was far from over. Back at the canoe, IF instructed the girls to help her get the branch in a good position for her to work on it. "Okay Compa, move it to the left a little." directed IF.

"Okay!" said Compa, quickly moving the tree branch forward and in the completely wrong way. The branch ended up socking IF right in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her for a second.

"Your other left!" shouted IF, reestablishing a firm grip on the branch.

"Oops," said Compa, "sorry Iffy!"

They got the branch in position and IF sat down near it on a stump that was pretty much one of the few things left in the marsh that wasn't soaking wet. IF hated it when her clothes got wet because then they'd stick to her.

Nepgear, patiently watching IF carve into the large tree branch, noticed in the background a set of large silver mushrooms growing off a tree. She got up, making sure to watch her step. The mud was still a hazard even on the land that wasn't submerged. Nepgear was a little cautious, but slowly inched her hand towards the silvery fungus. She felt the top of it. It felt like velvet but with a bit of dust caught inside.

Compa, looking up from her medical textbook, noticed Nepgear stroking the top of the mushroom like it was a pet. "Eep, Nepgear! Don't touch that, that's a bad mushroom!"

Broken away from stroking the mushroom, she cocked her head to the side in confusion and asked, "What's wrong with it?"

"That's a Lycanfungus. It'll turn you into a scary werewolf!" Compa said with a dramatic voice. Nepgear's face turned sour that very second. Running over to Compa, she asked if there was any disinfectant left. Compa helped her clean her hands of the residue left from the silvery fungus.

"Don't want you turning into a werewolf. I don't work well with fuzzy things," IF jested.

"I'll say! I still don't forgive you for what happened to Mr. Mew!" Compa said with pout and a glare aimed at IF.

IF pointed her carving knife casually at Compa and sharply replied, "Hey, you can't prove anything! He wandered into washing machine by himself, I did not put him in there!"

"You had a cat in your laundry basket, I saw it!" claimed Compa.

"That was a stuffed animal!" shouted IF. She shied a little as she realized she shouted a lot louder than she had intended to. Nepgear thought it was cute that IF still had stuffed animals.

Nepgear giggled and noted, "You two sound like a married couple when you argue."

IF blushed a little, though she wasn't about to admit she was. She let the shadows of the sunset hide her slight embarrassment. Compa chuckled and realized that they did argue like a married couple. Agreeing with Nepgear, Compa said, "Our arguments are more funny than serious..."

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Gasping for air and as worn down as their armour, a certain pair of bumbling idiots entered Planeptune. Even the random people walking down the street with their noses buried in their gaming consoled took notice of the out-of-place characters.

"That..." Headshot took a deep gasp, "was one helluva dash..."

"ur 73ll1n m3..." gasped Overkill.

Shooting Overkill an aggravated glance, Headshot bluntly shouted, "We probably would've made it here alright if someone hadn't decided to pick an apple from the mutant tree!"

"1 d1dn7 n0 73h 7h1n6 w45 4l1v3!11!1!" Overkill shot back in his defense. The two of them attracted the attention of every Planeptune citizen near them. Neither of them had ever been to Planeptune. Of course, being a clan, they'd been invited to the Coliseum a couple of times, but they cared little to go. Planeptune was too modernized and mainstream for their liking.

"I think I see the Basilicom. Maybe we can get the drop on that braindead CPU," Headshot suggested, Overkill having no complaints in taking his anger out on someone else. They approached the distant tower poking out from behind the towering skyscrapers around them that seemed to poke the clouds above.

Opening the giant door, they were assaulted with a strange scent of home cooking and nostalgia. They shut the door behind them, because even though they were barbaric, they at least had basic decency.

"Welcome to-" Overdrive stopped his greeting midway upon realizing who just stepped inside. Histoire's face turned sour as she saw the two enter and Overdrive raised his crossbow with his aim at their heads. "The hell are you doing here?"

"wh3r3 !5 7h47 57up!d 7w!6 6!r1 y0ur3 u5u4lly w!7h?" asked Overkill impatiently.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Overdrive retorted, his one eye closed with his other eye aiming through his scope.

"CPU Nepgear has departed for another nation. You'll have to return at another time," Histoire bluntly said to them.

"Maybe we should take the Oracle hostage instead?" Headshot asked his screwball partner next to him.

"You even think about making a move towards Histoire, and I'll pin you both up to the wall as trophies!" Overdrive growled, his anger almost making his arm shake.

"Tch..." Headshot clicked his tongue.

"1375 134v3 4 n40..." Overkill quietly voiced. Headshot knew he wasn't going to get any information at the Basilicom, so he left the hostile room and exited back outside to Planeptune and it's sunlit sidewalks.

"Now what? We have no idea where they are now," Headshot spoke all while thinking to himself of where the girls were.

"dud3 7h!nk 4b0u7 !7! 7h3y w3r3 L0w33 & L45747!0n...wh3r3 7h3 h311 h4v3n7 7h3y g0n3?" Overdrive tried to reason with Headshot who was deep in his own thoughts.

"Yeah, they have been at three..." Headshot took a second, pausing his walk down the sidewalk, and put the pieces together. "The only place they haven't been to yet is Leanbox..."

"& h0w d0 u g37 70 L34nb0x?"

"Through Castlescape!" said Headshot with a resupply of vigor.

"B1ng0. 1375 m0v3 b3f0r3 7h3y g37 700 f4r 4h34d." Overkill took off with Headshot in tow. They rushed for the Castlescape checkpoint, passing through it and eager to take on their enemies headfirst...

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Half and hour later, IF was finally finished with the patch for the canoe. Compa used a watertight glue she made using the local flora that she found while they were walking to the ent. Once the canoe was all fixed up, IF tested it by slowly stepping on it while it was in the water. She confirmed that it was water-ready and beckoned for the other two to hop in.

Nepgear and Compa relaxed in the canoe while IF rowed the boat with the old oars that were left in the canoe when they found it. The crimson moon was now resting just above the highest tower of the mansion up ahead, shining brilliantly on the lake. The blood-red reflection on the lake made the scene entrancing, if not beautiful in it's own mysterious way.

Their trance was broken once something knocked up against the bottom of the boat. It wasn't a hard hit, but the girls could definitely feel something. It knocked again, but harder, and again even harder. After the first five knocks, IF knew she'd better speed her rowing up.

"Yeah, I had the feeling this wouldn't be a peaceful boat ride in the moonlight..." muttered IF under her breath, picking up the pace with her rowing. Whatever was lurking in the deep waters wasn't friendly. It started slamming into the side of the canoe, trying to either turn it over or knock out it's occupants.

Nepgear and Compa shifted their weight as needed and kept the boat right-side-up, if not a little wet. The creature attacking would surface occasionally and a bright light could be seen wandering around underwater.

"Compa, that isn't your light is it?" asked Nepgear, looking deep into the water.

"Nope, I don't have any lights out," replied Compa. Nepgear wore a nervous expression as the creature completely surfaced itself. A maw of sharp teeth from a fish's mouth opened wide and IF kicked it into high gear to avoid being devoured by an enormous mutant lanturnfish. Nepgear and Compa scooted quickly to the front of the canoe and held themselves far away from the part of the canoe that was likely to be devoured.

It chomped down and took half the canoe with it as it fled back into the lake. The canoe was quickly sinking and they were a ways away from the shoreline ahead. No checkpoint would save them from their fate if they didn't find some way to get to the shore and away from the water.

"Compa, do you have any waterwalking potions?" asked IF. Compa quickly searched her inventory but found nothing. IF, thinking as fast as she was rowing, asked her, "Are your lights solid?"

"You mean the light orbs?" Compa questioned. IF quickly nodded in which Compa replied, "Yeah, they're solid."

"Make three of them, fast!" commanded IF, still trying to row their sinking canoe. Compa hastily made three light orbs and made them hover close by. IF dropped the oars, abandoning ship as she held onto the light orb for dear life. Nepgear and Compa also grabbed onto their orbs just as the fish surfaced again, ready to eat the rest of the canoe. The orbs that the three of them held onto so tightly sped off for the shore, the fish taking the rest of the canoe in it's mouth like a mere snack.

Once they were on shore, Compa disposed of her light orbs and took a deep breath of clear air and relaxed on the grassy land near the shore. None of the girls were gonna go near the shore with a giant lanturnfish on the prowl. With that little detour finished, They looked ahead to the dark forest of towering pine trees and shadows encompasing the nearly ending night.

Scratching her head and wishing that she could somehow tell where they were going, IF said, "I'm really getting tired of this..."

With that said, they ventured through the forest head first, not wanting to lose their momentum and possibly their good luck...

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I was watching them. All the while the girls ventured through the marshlands, I watched them via a small blue sphere Sheeva taught me how to summon. There were times where I was seriously worried about them. They were powerful fighters, but they weren't invincible. I wished they'd quit pushing themselves so hard.

"I'm here for a reason Nepgear..." I whispered to myself, still gazing into the blue sphere showing my party's adventure.

"Hey," A voice said from nearby. It was low, low enough for me to easily assume it was Bahumat. I looked over to him briefly, waving a hand still held close to my body before looking back into my orb. Bahumat, sitting down crosslegged in a sort of meditation pose, looked at the orb I gazed into. "You're worried about them aren't you?"

"Yeah. I really am," I replied shallowly.

Bahumate gave a soft but deep chuckle and said, "You remind me of when I was first was a summon."

I didn't look up, my mind so focused on the passage of my teammates.

"I take it you fear for them?" asked Bahumat. That question hit me harder than it should have, my heart skipping a beat in response. I had to ask myself just why I watched the orb so closely, gazing upon them like a paranoid god. I bowed my head a little, my eyes no longer meeting the orb. Speaking with a calm voice, Bahumat suggested, "Have a little more faith in them. They'll be fine."

His words were said with a stern but consoling voice. I knew he meant only to calm me, but all I could say in response was something my heart said instead of my mouth, "It's not that I don't have faith in them. It's just that I hold Nepgear, no, all of them so close to me that it'd break me to see any of them dead."

Bahumat took a pause. It was hard to tell with his rigid dragon-like face, but he was smiling. "You're gonna make a damn fine summon kid," Bahumat complimented with a strong tone.

"Heh, you think so?" I asked with a friendly tone. Bahumat just laughed in response before beckoning for me to follow him as he stood up. I let the orb in my hand just vanish into thin air and followed Bahumat through the grassy valleys of trees and gentle creatures. It was truly peaceful in the Sprit Plains. No fighting happened and the closest you'd see to verbal assault is the residents teasing each other. For creatures so used to war and violence, they were all very well composed.

"So where are we going?" I asked the tall dragon.

"I'm going to teach you how to perform a Special Summon Move. It's like a last resort move." Bahumat simplified, trying to remember when the last time was that he used his SSM. "Be warned though, once you design this move, you're stuck with it."

I nodded and asked, "How do I design it?"

Bahumat stood still and quiet for a moment, racking his draconic brain to remember how he made his SSM. Minutes passed and Bahumat still drew a blank. I impatiently tapped my foot and slid on my headphones while waiting. Since Bahumat was deep in thought and muttering something under his breath, I thought to myself of what I would make such an ultimate move do.

"Oh yeah!" Bahumat suddenly blurted out. "You just gotta think about it. When you have the whole thing pictured in your head, you mentally confirm that what you pictured is what you want. Then you're done."

It seemed unbelievable, but considering where I was, I went along with it. Nothing came to mind for a while, but once I did have something, I let it sink in. It was simple enough to remember the combo and once I had it in mind completely, I locked it in.

"Got it?" asked Bahumat, seeing my head rise from exiting my deep thought. I nodded to him and he replied to that with, "Good, now you get to name it."

"Name it? Why can't I just call it my SSM and be done?" I asked impatiently.

"You're a summon! You gotta have an awesome name for it, otherwise it, it, it..." Bahumat stumbled on his words, "it goes against the nature of RPGs everywhere!"

I sighed and entered deep thought again, trying to pick out a fitting name for my ultimate move. Looking up from my daze, I asked, "How about Breakdown?"

Bahumat shook his head and said, "Too plain. Try again."

I grumbled and quickly grasped another good name and blurted out in a question, "How about Bulletstorm?"

"That's copyrighted," Bahumat quickly shot back.

"Son of a bitch," I sighed, going back to the mental drawing board. Finally, after about ten minutes of thinking, I came up with my most original name yet. "This is the last one I can come up with. How about Chaos Requiem?"

Bahumat stood still and thought for a minute before nodding his head and saying, "I think that'd work. Sounds good."

I was about to jump for joy but was hastily denied by Bahumat saying, "Now you gotta shout something cool when you use it."

My eyes narrowed at him and my brain didn't even want to think about what 'cool thing' I'd shout like a moron in the middle of my FSO.

"Relax!" Bahumat said, "You don't have to come up with it now. Besides, I wanna take you somewhere..."

In my mind, I thought, "Oh great, I get to do something even more random," but I didn't bother to vocalize it. Bending down, Bahumat stood still with his head turned to face me. I was trying to figure out what he was doing when he shouted, "Hop on!"

"Oh bloody hell..."

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The trip through the woods wasn't as bad as the girls had anticipated. Only a few fairies had gotten in the way. Their attacks weren't anything unbearable and there were only a few of them. Up ahead, way far ahead, was a graveyard visible in the gaze of the rising sun. The scarlet moon had faded away and a sun embraced the trio with it's warm rays.

Compa hummed a soft tune under her breath, something that resounded a sort of melancholy but it wasn't all that sad as much as it was a sort of melody for a lonely stargazer. Nepgear smiled as she listened to IF talking about the supplies that they'd need once they reached another town.

"See, like that up there. That graveyard looks like it's been well kept, judging by the structure and contents. Stuff like that, you want to look out for. That's a sign of civilazation, or at least a small village. You still listening, Gear?" asked IF, turning her head to face Nepgear.

"Of course IF, I'm listening," Nepgear confirmed with a gentle nod, holding her hands in front of her. She was listening to IF, but also wondering again what her 'brother' was up to. The stars fading fast as they walked, sometimes Nepgear would glance up as if to bid them farewell. Her mind didn't really want to dwell on the thought that they were about to enter a graveyard.

The hardened earth made not a budge in the presence of the three travelers. IF waited patiently for a rotting hand to pop up from the rigid ground and Compa still hummed her soft tune to herself, as if wandering around a world of her own. Just as IF had said, up ahead was a village and a few signs of life. Some gravel trails were built into the graveyard and not far ahead was a stonework building. The sounds of commerce and movement leaked out to the graveyard, leading IF and the others to home in on the sound.

"Something feels..." IF thought aloud, stopping midsentence and thinking to herself.

"Nostalgic?" said Nepgear, trying to find the right word to fit IF's sentence.

IF quickly nodded and said with a hint of confusion, "It's weird. I've never been here before in my life. I've never even set foot in Castlescape before, yet for some reason, it feels so nostalgic here..."

Compa stopped humming to herself finally as she stood before a large sign that read, "Welcome to Loombridge! Home of the Noobs!"

The three of them all stared at the sign blankly. A little extra info was posted underneath the sign, but none of it was important. IF turned away from the sign and looked around the small town. A few buildings were around, a large castle wall spanned her vision to the left, and it looked like a river slithered through the middle of the town. Quickly taking a walk over to the river, IF peered inside, her limited vision scouring the depths of the water. Finally, her eyes met with a strange looking red fish speeding down the river.

"What is it Iffy?" asked Compa, looking in the river with her.

With a smile spread across her face, IF said, "We have been going the right way. This is the Aegis River alright."

Nepgear wore the same kind of smile as she said, "That's great to hear. It'd be terrible if we were going the wrong way this whole time."

The three of them still focused on the river. Their gazes watched the streams aplenty surge down endlessly through the little valley made for it's traversal. Then, like a bolt from the blue, a shout came from nearby directed at the trio.

"Dooooommm!"

Startled, the girls quickly jumped back and almost readied their weapons when they realized it was just some crazy old guy. Moving past the strange old man that was shouting the word 'doom' at every person that passed by, the girls noticed that there were a lot of similar looking people. IF even went as far to joke that it looked like somebody had too much fun with a cloning machine.

They entered a bland looking shop with a pair of windows letting in the shining sun's rays. The shop owner stood at a counter with a treasure chest sitting behind her while a the shop owner's assistant swept the shelves of troublesome dust.

"Welcome. Is there anything I can help with?" asked the kind shop owner with a calm tone.

"Yes actually..." IF began listing off some of the things they needed to the shop owner. She had quite a few of the things they wanted, but there were too many noob items for IF to do serious shopping. She'd have to make due with some basic stuff like crafting materials and armour repair hammers.

Handing over a few repair hammers, the shop owner asked IF, "I don't suppose you are heading out for an adventure?" IF nodded as she put the hammers in the group inventory. "Be careful on your way. The Cave of Trials is a very dangerous place to go to."

"I assume you've been down there before?" asked IF.

The shop owner nodded and said, "Ai, I used to be an adventurer like you. Well, at least, until I took an arrow to the knee."

"Where have I heard that one before?" mumbled IF under her breath.

"Morrigan and I used to be great battlemages until we slowly went into retirement," The still-cleaning shop assistant piped up. She had just finished dusting off the last shelf and intended to go in the back of the store to restock their supplies.

"Yavana there was a lot more skilled than I was, but I could still hold my own. I hope you can do the same," said the shop owner, Morrigan. IF assured them that they'd do well against the challenge ahead and bid them farewell, walking back outside with their money still in hand. The shop owner had completely forgotten to take the money that they owed.

"Iffy! Stealing is bad, you should go pay them," Compa scolded IF.

IF sighed and said, "It is bad, but there's a reason why it's a skill and why I'm good at it."

As per, Compa would pout and say, "The ends don't justify the means, please go pay them."

Little did they notice, Nepgear had just done that very thing, paying out of her own pocket for the items. "It's alright Compa, I paid for it."

"Good Ge-Ge. Thank you for doing so," said Compa, giving a look towards IF.

Nepgear chuckled and said, "Don't be mad at IF. IF wouldn't be IF without her rogue-ish attitude."

IF wasn't exactly proud to wear the 'rogue' title, but she couldn't deny the similarities.

There was a single road leading out of town, dirt spread across a large area with more clone-like people walking casually up and down, absorbing the most of the generally cloudless and sunny day. Standing off to the side of the road was a very basic looking man handing out flyers, almost shoving them in people's faces.

"Deals on GP for Four Goddesses Online! 30,000 Credits for 1,000,000 GP!" the man shouted plainly. He repeated the same phrase over and over again.

"Ge-Ge, didn't you use to play that?" asked Compa, keeping her eyes away from the annoying man.

Nepgear nodded, even though she knew Compa didn't see, and said, "I did for a while. My duties as CPU kept me from getting into it too much. I admired how much Lady Vert was able to get into it, even though she was a CPU and still had the duties of one."

"Lady Vert sure was good at what she did," IF added in, trying to remember if anyone ever actually beat the goddess at gaming. As far back as she could remember, there wasn't but a single soul that beat her. Who that was that finally defeated the legendary gamer slipped IF's mind, but that didn't diminish her respect she still harbored for Vert.

Their path was straight and simple. A few trees along the way of a dirt trail lead to a distant horizon of grassy plains. Birds chirped in the distance, singing melodies to one another while the gentle breeze whistled with them. It took nearly half an hour before the scenery changed to a rocky outcropping where a huge and bloody cave entrance came into view. A single house stood up to the cave's intimidating appearance, peaceful yet natural with a hint of ruggedness.

They didn't bother to check the house out, rather, they went inside the shallow mouth of the cave only to find it was blocked not even ten steps in. A huge rockslide blocked all from entering. "Dammit. Never fails..." IF complained, heading back up to the cave mouth. The light shone in brilliantly, blinding them even though they were only out of it for a few seconds.

"We should see if there's anyone that can help there in that house," Compa suggested, pointing her slender finger at the peaceful but out of place house. IF and Nepgear had no objections. Compa, standing pretty at the door, knocked three times and stood back. Patiently waiting, she could hear someone shifting around inside. A lock came undone at the hands of whoever was inside and the door swung open to reveal a very buff old man with a white beard and white hair tied in a ponytail. He had only a basic steel chestplate and some white pants, but his physique left Nepgear and IF speechless.

"There's no way in hell that's possible! He's gotta be in his damned 80's!" IF thought to herself.

"Goodness, he sure is in shape for his age," thought Nepgear, almost aloud.

"Can I help you three?" asked the buff man.

"Hello!" Compa cheerily greeted him, keeping all comments to herself for the moment, "We were wondering if you could help us clear out that scary cave there of rubble. We really need to get through there."

The man didn't say anything for a while. IF began to wonder if he died, fell asleep, or his brain temporarily shut down. Then, just as they were about to leave, the man said, "Young miss, you look awfully familiar. What's your name?"

Bad vibes flowed through IF faster than her blood did. Whispering in Nepgear's ears, IF said in a hushed tone, "Be ready to run. I think this guy might be a creeper."

Wearing a confused expression, Nepgear asked with the same hushed tone, "You mean like those one things with no arms that explode?"

IF wanted to facepalm, but was too busy keeping an eye on the old guy that she had bad feelings about. Compa gave the man her name and the old man quickly asked after that, "Are you by any chance related to Yuriyuga?"

Smiling, Compa said, "He's my grandpa!"

Belting out a hardy laugh, the old man said, "I've known your grandpa for many a year! Please, come on in and bring your friends too."

Letting out a soft sigh, IF led Nepgear in with Compa leading them. The house was surprisingly cozy for such a small place. The girls took a seat at a soft leather sofa and the old man took his place at a recliner.

"Oh, where's my manners? I'm Edge Meister, a former warrior from ancient times," Edge greeted the girls. IF and Nepgear introduced themselves and restated their problem to Edge Meister. He attentively listened to their short story about what they were up to and why they needed to get to Leanbox. "Seems you've got quite an adventure ahead. I'll tell you what, I'm in need of some Sakuradite to fix some nitches on my blade. If you can recover that from the nearby town of Loombridge, I'd be happy to help."

"Well," IF started, standing up and stretching, "that settles that then. We'll be back as soon as we can."

"Thank you for offering to help," Nepgear thanked Edge and bowed to him in respect.

"It's no trouble. Take care everyone. I'll see you soon," Edge bid them all farewell as the trio walked back outside and got ready for another half an hour of walking through the dull scenery of the plain path ahead. Everyone sort of did their own thing, thinking nothing of the trip until distant shouting got their attention. IF looked up and noticed a group of bandits running at full speed down the path, one of the bigger ones running with a strange and sparkly green crystal.

"What the hell...?" IF raised a brow. The three girls stood aside as the group of bandits sped by, being chased by a chain of fireballs emitting from a girl's staff. The girl chasing the bandits had short purple hair and had a purple wizard's outfit on. She looked like she was only fifteen and sure did sound like it too.

"I may not have my full powers, but I'll still roast you!" the mage shouted, still launching a barrage of fireballs at them. A strange boy was a little farther behind, either chasing the mage or the bandits. Looking over his shoulder with his spiky red hair following, the boy shouted to a girl of green even further back, "Hurry up Rina, they're gonna get away!"

The group of strange characters passed by, their shouts still audible in the distance. IF shrugged and just let it go, continuing to think to herself and soak up the luscious day on their boring trip back to Loombridge.

Back at Loombridge, nothing seemed to have changed. The air still held a strange nostalgia, the 'clones' still wandered aimlessly around, and the one guy advertising his website was shouting the same phrase still. IF had to assume that the building with the clanking noise coming out of it was the blacksmith's shop. A petite dwarf hammered away at a thin sheet of blue metal, struggling with it in an attempt to meld the metal to his desired shape. IF, Nepgear, and Compa just watched the man pound away at the metal.

The dwarf wiped away the sweat drops easing down his head with his meaty hand and gave a satisfactory smirk as he finished working the blue metal into a sword's blade. Turning around, he jumped as he realized that there were people there. He thought he was alone still, and in seeing the trio of girls waiting patiently, he asked while wiping his forehead off again, "Yeah, you need something?"

"We're here to collect some Sakuradite for the Edge Meister," IF said with a blunt tone.

"Edge Meister, eh?" said the dwarf as he put his finished blade in a pool of water. It hissed ferociously for a minute but eventually cooled down enough for the dwarf to speak clearly. "I do still owe him for digging out my mine, but that stuff is extremely rare. If you girls really want it, you'll have to do me a favor first."

IF raised her hand to her face and made a frustrated pose as she mumbled, "I already see where this is going..."

"What is it you need?" Nepgear asked, completely devoted to getting what the Edge Meister needed so they could continue their journey to Leanbox.

"Well, about two days ago, my favorite necklace fell right off it's string and went down the drain and I haven't had the time to go down and get it. If you get that, the Sakuradite's all yours. The necklace has three triangles on it, all of them forming the shape of a triangle," The dwarf wasn't about to take any begs or pleads. Once he stated what he wanted, he turned right around and got back to work on his smithing.

"Great, more sewer crawling..." sighed IF, holding the door open for her teammates as they all left the blacksmith's forge. They could see a manhole nearby, but the question was where the necklace was down in there.

"The dwarf said that he dropped the necklace two days ago. It could be anywhere in the sewers by now," Nepgear pointed out. IF agreed quietly while opening the manhole and climbing down. The darkness was quick to conquer the light trying to pour down the small hole. Once IF hit solid ground, she made way for the others to get down, treading carefully in case she stepped in the wrong place.

Compa quickly lit up the dim sewers with her magic. A pair of floating light orbs kept the dirty ground illuminated. IF almost jumped as she accidentally stepped on a fleeing rat. She was very annoyed at having to crawl around in yet another sewer.

"At least there isn't any radiation here," IF thought to herself, driving out her aggravation if only for a minute. The tunnel was very simple, a long tunnel with individual pipes of copper and tin winding around the sides and ceiling. Little holes occasionally pumped in disgusting wastes and goblins shifted out of sight in the distance, fleeing down the tunnel further. The soggy ground had no hint of life, making the girls wonder what exactly it was that they were stepping on.

Rats in the distance squeaked and conversed in their own language just as the goblins did. Their voices echoed down the tunnel as the girls approached their safe havens they fled to. After a few minutes of walking, Nepgear happened to see something glisten in the distance. Rushing forward, IF and Compa right behind her, Nepgear saw that a distant goblin had been looking blankly at the strange necklace.

"Ah!" shrieked the goblin, "W-what do you w-w-want from m-me?"

"Little goblin, could you please give us that necklace? We need it for our quest!" Compa tried to bargain with the feral creature.

It stared at her with confusion for a minute. It was more attracted to Compa's bust than the necklace now, and had he been inclined or teased, he probably would've handed it over to Compa on the spot. But sadly, that wasn't the case. "I might be able to give it to you, if you could do me a favor..."

"What do you-" Compa was cut off from talking to the goblin as IF slashed the green creature into oblivion with a single blow. Astounded, Compa said in a low voice, "Poor little goblin, he didn't deserve that..."

IF sighed deeply and with a vigor before saying, "I am not gonna end up walking all over the world doing small favours for all and sundry!"

"I'm sorry, but I have to agree with IF for once. It had to be done for the greater good," Nepgear consoled Compa while IF picked up the necklace and stowed it away in her inventory.

Leading the pack, IF kept her eyes open for the rusty ladder leading back up to the surface. She finally got herself to stop trying to check her phone constantly, imprinting it in her head that she had no service in Castlescape.

"Well, at least we didn't have to wade through a dungeon of enemies," Nepgear looked on the bright side.

"What enemies would even want to be down here? The only thing I can think of to fight in this dump is a great, mighty poo," IF joked crudely, mainly laughing at her own joke. They were at the ladder and once everyone was aboard and climbing, Compa let her magic orbs vanish without a trace. That simple spell took quite a toll on her MP.

Going back to the blacksmith's house, IF opened the door and felt a thick heat escape. It was like they walked into the mouth of a volcano as they greeted the busy dwarf. "We got your necklace back. It might smell like crap for a while, but we got it," said IF, handing the necklace back to the dwarf who put aside his smithing for a moment. He had enough time to give thanks to the girls and get the Sakuradite for them.

"Thank you very much!" Nepgear thanked the dwarf before she left with the others. The girls were quick to move back through the town and to the path leading away from Loombridge, effectively ignoring the advertiser that still spammed his monotonous phrase that made IF want to put an arrow in his head.

Compa stayed at the back of the group, going back to humming her nostalgic song like she was some sort of living jukebox. She paid little attention to her surroundings, only humming to herself and listening in on IF chatting with Nepgear about how to properly plunder a village. Nepgear herself questioned how IF knew so much about the topic, but listened regardless.

Then, a sound like something hitting the floor disturbed the girls' conversation. Normally IF wouldn't have thought much of it, but when the message, "Compa has fainted!" popped up, IF turned around with a raised brow to find that Compa had been rendered unconcious at the hands of two bumbling idiots.

"Told you that still worked!" Headshot shouted to his Overkill, who now wielded a pair of small and bladed one-handed crossbows fed by an awkwardly placed clip. IF assumed that the noob didn't know how to load a crossbow properly. Headshot himself held onto an old-fashioned rifle once called a blunderbuss. Nepgear questioned why such an updated piece of weaponry was in a fantasy setting, but she supposed it wasn't an unheard of thing.

"7h47 w45 b3457 d00d!" Overkill raised his hand up high, his fellow clan member sharing a high-five with him.

IF dropped her claws down and Nepgear prepared her sword, IF only asking the two of them, "You cosplay rejects again? You really are annoying, you do realize this, right?"

"Cosplay rejects? Bitch, please, I'm the leader of the best clan to ever exist!" Headshot boasted, his rifle resting over his shoulder as he made a heroic pose.

She could only raise a brow at the idiot. IF honestly wondered if they were delusional or just plain idiots. Either way, they were a problem that she wasn't about to hesitate in solving. Leaping forward like a predator seeking its prey, IF quickly cleared the distance between them in a second's pace.

Headshot quick rolled out of the way, aiming his blunderbuss at IF's head. Of course, in the RPG world, a headshot would just constitute for massive damage. It wouldn't outright kill her, at least IF hoped it wouldn't. But just in case, IF made a quick stop and slid backwards, the bullet leaving the loud rifle slipping right in between her claws.

"We don't have to fight! Can't we just leave each other alone?" Nepgear asked them to no avail.

"w3 l057 4 m3mb3r 0f 0ur 734m 4lr34dy 4nd w3 4r3n7 l0s!n6 0ur pr!d3 n3x7!" Overkill shot back words to accompany his flying arrows. He scored one shot on Nepgear, but it didn't do much damage. Far from done, he unloaded a storm of shots at the advancing Nepgear. Wielding a large sword weighed down Nepgear, but she was at least able to dodge some of the attacks. But once she cleared the distance, Overkill was quick to switch to melee combat, using the bloody butcher knives attached to the bottom of his crossbows.

Nepgear didn't have a problem with catching the rookie's blades in hers and parrying his attacks. Her blade dancing alongside her feet, she took a couple quick jabs at him while he tried to dodge. A pair of sweat beads flew down Overkill's pale face, hiding within his shoulder-length black hair that peeked out from his red dragon-armor helm. He went to catch Nepgear's blade in between his two bayonettes, but Nepgear's strength broke one of the blades off and knocked the crossbow away from him. Out of ammo for his other crossbow, he was forced to resort to his special skill, the only one he had out in Castlescape.

"!m n07 m!55!n6 7h!5 7!m3!11!1!" Overkill shouted with that high-pitched noise trying to surface out of his voice. A glowing circle of arrows gathered near his single crossbow and spun around like a minigun. The lengthy claw on his finger squeezed the trigger with no hesitation and sent a barrage of arrows to Nepgear.

Eyes widened and her mouth open, she knew the only thing that would save her would be to dash a full three meters back and that would take time that she didn't have. Holding her blade up in preparation, she waited for the arrows to collide. They hit with the force of a raging beast, scooting Nepgear back and knocking her over. Her HP was half gone and she had the choice of trying to fight and use a potion or to try and revive Compa.

"Goodness, what do I do?" Nepgear thought to herself, quickly getting back up as Overkill reloaded his crossbow and reached to get his other one.

"Demonic Inferno!" IF called her attack, unleashing a hellstorm on Overkill. The fire boiled him in his own armor and made him shriek like a banshee. He almost dropped his crossbow in pain, but instead aimed it and fired quickly at IF, inserting a group of arrows in her shoulder in rapid succession.

Headshot was forced to hold still, captured by a paralyzation spell IF unleashed using a scroll. She knew not any advanced magic, but she knew she'd need it sometime when she saw it on sale at the store back in Loombridge. Nepgear made Headshot her new target and took a swift slash at him, cutting a deep gash through his waist. Unleashed from his holding spell, Headshot took the first five seconds of freedom to swear and cuss wildly before aiming his blunderbuss and firing another noisy shot at Nepgear. The spread of the blast grazed Nepgear in multiple places, but she ignored the pain and took another swipe at Headshot. He jumped back once, twice, and three times dodging Nepgear's furious attacks. He quickly reloaded his gun and fired it almost point-blank at Nepgear.

With only a millisecond to think, Nepgear sidestepped and jabbed her sword right into his hip, pulling out with a vicious might and calling upon every little drop of energy still left, raised her weapon up high and was ready to bring it down when a high-speed arrow hit her left hand. Nepgear lost her balance and almost dropped her sword from the blow.

"Hey, brainless, eyes on me!" IF shouted, getting Overkill's attention again. But his attention didn't save him from taking a huge swipe through his armor. The claw's sharp edge completely pulled off the decorative dragon bones held around his arms and then dug through the thick dragon leather, tearing into Overkill's skin. Blood crept through the cuts in his armor and fled down his arm. While shouting in pain, Overkill let loose his circle of arrows skill, getting a few good shots on IF, but not enough to keep her from knocking him to the ground with a well-placed kick.

On the ground and spitting blood out of his mouth, he looked up at IF with hateful eyes that peered through his cracked helmet. "d0 ur w0r57 b!7ch!" he shouted.

IF smiled and took that as an encouragement as he curb-stomped the kid's lights out. He was official unconcious and was almost about to relish in her victory when one of Headshot's misfires almost hit her dead on. Nepgear still waged war with the cocky leader and was doing a decent job of it. But of course, IF always rushes in to help her friends.

"Why won't you just die already you damned stupid bastard!" Headshot yelled. He ducked out of the way of Nepgear's wicked slice and reloaded his gun as fast as he could. "I'm getting real tired of your crap!"

IF snuck up behind Headshot with her footsteps silenced. Headshot, missing his shot again and mumbling curses under his breath as he reloaded his gun, he looked up briefly at Nepgear to see her stick her sword in the ground and casually lean forward on it, a smile on her face. Headshot slowed his reloading to a halt as he tried to interpret Nepgear's sudden casual attitude. In that brief moment of distraction, IF twisted Headshot's arm behind his back and disarmed him. Then, with a burst of strength, she slammed the butt of the rifle against the back of his neck, knocking him out in an instant.

"Nice distraction Gear," IF praised her teammate, walking over to Compa and using a Phoenix Down to wake her up out of her unconcious state. "Have a nice nap?" IF teased her as she helped up the confused healer.

"Don't worry about it Compa. We just had a run in with our rivals," Nepgear quickly explained, unearthing her sword and swinging it over her shoulder. Their path ahead was clear, and judging by how hard the two Faith Breakers had been hit, they were likely to be unconcious for quite some time. Walking along the dirt trail, they weren't far away from Edge Meister's house.

Calmly knocking on the door, Compa greeted his elderly friend as he opened the door and greeted them in.

"We've got the Sakuradite," IF said, handing over the strange metal to the Edge Meister. He accepted with a cheerful smile, one carefree and free of worries despite his elderly age and appearance.

"Thank you. Now," Edge intertwined his fingers and bent his wrists, cracking his fingers with a vulgar sound, "let's see if I've still got it."

The girls followed him outside and down the shallow cave entrance, down to where the cave was filled with thick boulders. He took three deep breaths, scattering the dust that rested on the rocks. Rearing one fist back, he waited a second for his energy to properly channel his energy and smacked his fist into the rocks, sending a shockwave through the wall of stone. The rocks were forced forward, scattering down into the cave with the shockwave scattering wind and hard sound outside.

"Hmph. Still got it!" Edge Meister triumphantly grunted. "Take care girls, it's not a playground down there."

"We will. Thanks so much for the help, we greatly appreciate it," Nepgear kept back coughing up the horde of dust that was sent every which way. Compa and IF coughed and had to keep away from the area for a second to let the dust settle.

"No problem. See ya," Edge said as he waved them goodbye, walking back to his nearby house. IF and Compa followed Nepgear inside, the cave growing darker the further they got from the illuminated cave mouth. Compa once again took up her light orbs to light the way, but in doing that, she disturbed the sleep of bats, rats, and a few magically enhanced rocks that felt like beating the hell out of something.

Golems weren't very common even in Castlescape, but boy were they mean little bastards and some of the tougher enemies to kill. IF could see clear as day that their path was getting harder and harder. She didn't mind that at all though, she welcomed a little challenge...

I~~Attack~~-+-+-+-~~ Magic ~~I

I~~ Item ~~-+-+-+-~~Summon~~I

It was a long concert, but I'd enjoyed it greatly. The random place that Bahumat took me to was a concert hall where a Siren chanted along to an orchestra. The music was so radiant that I though I'd stopped breathing a few times just listening to it. Though I wasn't too fond of the sweaty pig sitting behind me that smelled of burnt bacon, I looked over it once I got into listening to the Siren's music.

"That was much better than that performance I watched at Lastation," I commented, leaving the concert hall with Bahumat, stretching my weary bones that had been sitting for an hour and a half straight. I hadn't even left to go to the bathroom, the music was just that damned good. We walked together through a village teeming with summons and life.

Bahumat, his curiosity piqued, asked, "What was so bad about that performance?"

"Well, I didn't watch it live," I confessed. At the time, I'd actually watched it on TV out of curiosity. But that was beside the point. "but watching it on the TV, in the middle of the performance, everyone suddenly burst into freakin' flames. It was like a mass gathering of that spontaneous combustion thing. Lastation could only send out a rookie from the Lastation Police and Military Department, so they never caught the person they suspected that caused it. According to science, the thing was a parasite of some sort, but how it performed such a magic as causing over four hundred people to just burst into flames was beyond anything they could figure out."

"That's messed up. I never heard about anything like that," he replied. Even in his old years, never once had he heard about such an ominous occurance, but at least he didn't witness it firsthand. He didn't even want to imagine such a thing.

"Feel lucky, that scene's been burned into my memory for good. No pun intended," I said quietly. Changing the subject, I asked Bahumat, "So where to next?"

"I'm gonna take you out to the Great Spirit," Bahumat said bluntly. He just lead me out through a few pathways and alleys. I immediately wondered if he was taking me to some ruling deity of the Spirit Plains or perhaps a relative of his or something like that. But what he actually brought me to was a stonework building with a wooden sign hanging above the door that read, "Great Spirit"

We entered the area and a strong smell of alchohol and sweat hit my nose. "I don't think I'll be seeing any holy summon gods or anything in here," I thought to myself, walking into the room with Bahumat. A bunch of drunken elves and dwarves cheered upon his arrival and the bartender, a being similar to Sheeva greeted Bahumat and asked who I was as I sat down next to Bahumat.

"This here's the newest summon, Code," Bahumat introduced me warmly to the blue bartender.

"Sup?" I greeted casually.

"Hello kiddo, name's Glaicix. Hope you like it here, it's a great place." Glaicix greeted me with a frosty hand that sent a cold chill down my spine just looking at it. Nevertheless, I took her hand in mine and shook her hand with a friendly smile. "So what'll you two have?" she asked with a soft wispy voice.

"I'll have a Chef's Delight, and how about a Kirkwall Scotch Whiskey for Code here?" Bahumat placed my order for me. I'd only ever drank alcohol occasionally, not often though. Usually I'd get drunk on celebratory nights, like when I first finished my modifications on Grindrix. But as a commemoration to becoming a summon, I could go for a drink or two. Waiting on my drink, I took a look around the bar. Voices of cheer and drunken delight resounded almost as loud as the band playing in the corner of the bar. The cheer and joy reverberated like the loudest symphony of emotion and I really felt at ease there. A man sat down next to me, apparently returning from a restroom break. He was a bit thin, looked a little slant-eyed and wore a strange green cap with a flower on the front of it. But that man, he must've had one helluva liver, because sitting before him was a massive jug of beer that he was easily chugging like his stomach had no limit. I almost gaped my mouth but the bartender brought my ale to me and drew my attention away from the alchoholic next to me.

The frothy ale looked at me as much as I looked at it. The stench wavering from it was frozen like the deepest winter and the smell was somehow refreshing. Not hesitating, I put the cold glass up to my mouth and took a long drink. The alchohol hit me harder than any punch to the face could ever make. I got a little dizzy but the kick from the drink got my heart pumping and sparked a little energy in me.

"I love," I hiccuped midsentence, disturbing my train of thought for a second. "I love this place..."

I~~Attack~~-+-+-+-~~ Magic ~~I

I~~ Item ~~-+-+-+-~~Summon~~I

The golems didn't want to die. Their rocky bodies protected them against even the most powerful attacks and they were forced to resort to skill moves to do decent damage against them. IF didn't even want to try physical combat and Nepgear was growing tired. On top of all that Compa was low on MP.

Another thick rock arm slammed down on Nepgear, almost pinned to the floor as she dragged herself away while IF used Demonic Inferno to hold the golem at bay. There were only two of the monsters, but they were outright tanks.

"Compa! I need some help, please!" Nepgear shouted. She still had to drag herself away and had little room to move or go anywhere. Compa was a little worried and was very low on MP.

"We're gonna have to run at this rate!" IF shouted, holding off one of the rocky attackers.

Then, a thought struck Compa. One of her abilities was left unused for a very long time and she hadn't even considered using it since they didn't have much need for it. Channeling an untapped power, Compa used MP Drain on one of the golems, sapping it's health and turning it into MP for healing and buffs. Turning to Nepgear first, Compa casted a healing spell and a physical defense buff. IF was doing okay at the moment and hoped that she'd be the one to help end the fight.

Her AP as high as it would get, Nepgear had enough playing around and used every ounce of her AP to trigger Celestial Severance. That move alone took out the golems in one swift end and put a finish to their lengthy battle that nearly cost a life or two.

"I really hope there aren't more of those damned things out here..." IF said, catching her breath alongside Nepgear. Compa didn't take much damage luckily, other than having a few rocks hurled at her. The cave path ahead was simple and straight for the moment, but they had to wait to catch their breath before continuing. Compa wanted to cast a few rejuvenation spells on her party members, but they told her to conserve her MP for later.

Caught up on breath and ready to move out, the only sound moving about the caves were their footsteps. Not a one of them spoke to the other, IF keeping quiet as a form of stealth, Compa staying silent to focus on her surroundings, and Nepgear holding her tongue just because something felt off. There was a shift in the air that unsettled her but alerted her too. She couldn't put a finger on it, but something wasn't right around them.

Stopping dead, Nepgear felt the uneasiness at it's peak where she stood. Looking to the side, at the rocky cave wall, she stared at it a few seconds, IF and Compa trying to pry words out of her silent mouth.

"Gear, what's going on?" asked IF. Nepgear offered no response and, as if she was in a world of her own, reached a hand for the cave wall. It got closer and closer, and the closer it got, the more anxious Nepgear got. She knew something wasn't right, and as her curious nature was, she wanted to investigate. Her hand should've touched the wall a long time ago, but somehow it didn't. IF and Compa looked at the spectacle with wide eyes and open mouths.

"How did you..."

"I just had that odd feeling. Like I knew it was there, or wasn't there in this case," Nepgear chuckled, stepping past the illusionary wall. The question remained though, the question of what the fake wall was hiding. IF and Compa followed Nepgear, lighting the way forward and backward. An ambush seemed likely in the wider tunnel and IF refused to withdraw her weapon. In the distance, something reflected the light from Compa's orbs. It was shiny alright, the reflection almost blinded Nepgear.

Buried in the earth were two wing-like blades. The handle was surrounded by a circle that contained the blade feathers and they looked like they belonged to some celestial warrior. Nepgear saw the little message appear above the item saying that only a rogue could wield the weapon, but that didn't bother her. Rather, the description of the weapon was what got her attention. It read on the description, "A weapon made by a fake reality, this weapon is all too real but nothing more than a shared delusion..."

IF went in her inventory and stored her claws, picking up the wing-like blades from the ground. They were light as a feather and had much higher stats than her claws. Etched on the sides of the blades was a weird phrase.

"Whose eyes are those eyes?" IF read the weird letters aloud. Compa and Nepgear could only offer shared shrugs in response. None of them understood it, but IF was damned happy to find such a powerful set of blades. On cue for a test run, a rocky golem fell from the ceiling, ambushing the girls. IF quickly took off for the golem, carving her blades into it's rocky hide and dealing much more damage than before.

Still slicing into her enemy, IF shouted to Compa, "Use MP Drain! We'll kill it faster that way!"

"Okay!" Compa quickly accessed her spell list and casted MP Drain on the golem, sapping away it's magical energy that gave it life. Nepgear wanted to get in and help with her sword, but IF danced around the golem so fast that Nepgear was afraid she'd accidentally hit IF. Instead, the summoner guarded Compa while the mage gave buffs and healed IF. The golem was history in just a minute, IF feeling proud of herself for her quick disposal of the magic beast. Then, like magic, IF had her blades disappear into thin air.

"How'd you do that IF?" asked Nepgear, looking for any trace of her blades.

IF smirked and said, "It's magic."

Compa smiled and Nepgear did too, following IF back to the main cavern. It was still dark as ever no matter which way they turned. The cave complex quickly turned into a labrynth filled with golems that sapped their health and AP, even with IF's new weapons aiding the fight. Running low on emergency potions and items in general, they needed to find a way out and fast.

"It's okay IF, we've been through worse..." IF reassured herself, not paying the least bit of attention to where she was walking. Earlier, someone had tripped a tripwire that sent a small rockslide their way. Compa's leg was crushed in the confusion, but she healed herself up. Compa was humming to herself again, but with a different song. The song she was now humming was dark and dreary and sang of grief and despair, something unfitting for Compa. "What are you humming?" asked IF.

"It's the song the weird people are singing. Don't you hear them?" asked Compa. IF's eyes widened a little, hoping that Compa wasn't losing it.

Head turned to face Compa, IF asked her in a half-joking, half-serious tone, "Compa, what did I tell you about the green mushrooms? They don't give you an extra life."

"No, really Iffy, there's people chanting nearby!" Compa raised her voice with an assuring gesture.

"She's not lying, I hear it too," Nepgear confirmed, listening in on the nearby noises coming from beyond the walls of the cavern. IF silenced herself and began to tune in to the noises around her. Somewhere nearby was a low-pitched chorus of dark voices chanting some sort of demonic hymn. Bad vibes became as abundant as the pitch black darkness around her. The cave up ahead took a turn and around the turn a spotlight of sunlight poured in from a hole leading out. The cave was absolutely massive, almost large enough to hold half of Planeptune. That single source of light illuminated a circle of men in dark robes and hoods.

"Crap, necromancers. Well that explains all the golems around here..." IF whispered to herself. Compa cancelled out her light orbs and Nepgear kept quiet as she watched what they were doing. A dark circle of black magic formed around the circle of necromancers. A few seconds of demonic chanting later, they created a trio of golems that lumbered near them, waiting for their orders. "We gotta stop them. Gear, I want you to summon Code, we're gonna need a heavy hitter to empty this area out," IF directed. Nepgear nodded and Compa and IF stood back as the CPU dashed forward towards them, readying the Black Knight Ritual.

One of the necromancers noticed Nepgear nearing them and pointed a rigid finger at her and shouted, "Intruder!"

The golems stomped with a mighty roar as they walked to Nepgear and the necromancers prepared unholy spells to attack with, channeling the natural darkness of the caves. Nepgear finished the ritual and a black gate opened up.

I stepped out into the dimly lit cavern, making it hard for me to see where I was exactly going. The alcohol in my system didn't help that either. But my friends needed me, but boy did they pick a bad time.

"Dammit, and she just did get me my third beer..." I whispered under my breath. The necromancers looked at me with wide eyes, shouting something about an unholy master god and ran around in a frenzy. I questioned why Nepgear had summoned me just to deal with some braindead necromancers. Dodging a golem's arm, I ran straight to the necromancers that summoned the mineral abomination in the first place. Their cloth robes ripped under the power of my massive axes. I freely enjoyed ripping flesh from bone in the ample time I had to fight, which was less than last time. I worried that my summon time reduced every time I was summoned. "Not even any point in describing the carnage. They're just necromancers, there's like, nothing there," I thought to myself.

My black gate opening back up to take me back to the Spirit Plain, I stretched and walked over a golem corpse to my gate.

Nepgear was a little shocked at my beastly performance, but still waved goodbye and said, "Thank you for the help, Code!"

"No problem. Just call me when you need me. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go get drunk," I crudely made my departure, waving goodbye to Nepgear. IF and Compa walked back up to the Nepgear.

"Did he just say what I think he said?" IF asked with a raised brow, digging her ears out after she was nearly deafened by sonic blasts.

Nepgear chuckled and said, "Even heroes need a way to relax. He needs the break."

IF shrugged and Compa worried about their summon and alcohol's ill effects. Compa was worried about it, but she had the same mindset as Nepgear and let it blow over her for once. Unfortunately, at the other end of the huge cavern, the cave was sealed in and they'd need to get it back open. But upon getting near it, they heard a rumbling that progessively got louder and louder. Nepgear suggested that they go hide somewhere in case there's an enemy around. IF had no complaints and Compa had no better idea. They took off for a nearby boulder and hid behind it, peering ever so slightly past it while the shadows still concealed them. The rumbling stopped for what felt like an hour until.

A giant troll with yellow spikey hair pounded through the closed cave with an unearthed tree, shouting with a low voice, "Who make all this racket?!"

IF's eyes widened and a grand smile formed across her face. Looking up at her smiling friend, Compa asked in a very quiet whisper, "What is it, Iffy?"

"That's a very rare species of troll. They're known to drop very rare items!" IF snickered, Nepgear trying to keep her quiet. IF barreled out of their hiding spot, ready to get the drop on the confused troll. She casted Demonic Inferno with glee, hoping to kill it in one blow. The move did only a speck of damage and upon looking closely at the troll, IF realized something very bad.

"That's not the troll I thought it was...well, crap..." IF thought to herself. The troll had a slightly different shade of yellow on him, IF realizing that she'd been fooled by a pallette swap.

The troll looked down over it's shoulder and smiled, speaking with a low tone, "You make all this racket? Cruncytroll gonna eat you! Get in mah belly!"

IF rolled out of the way of an extremely powerful swing of the troll's tree limb. Upon smashing the floor, both cave entrances were closed off and falling boulders forced Nepgear and Compa to move out of their hiding spot. They were trapped with a powerful enemy way beyond their level and had no way to summon. Nepgear had to wait for her summon to recharge before she could summon again, which wouldn't be for another thirty minutes. IF thought fast and began rapidly climbing up the cave wall to try and get to the hole that let in light. That was their only escape and they were gonna try their best to flee. Nepgear and Compa started rushing up the rock wall and the Crunchytroll had to take a minute to figure out what the girls were trying to do.

"Prey no escape me!" Crunchytroll roared, slamming his tree into the rock wall, stopping their ascent just at the edge of the hole leading out. The edge of rocks began to tilt back, making it impossible to climb up. Their bodies hanging limply over the edge, they found themselves in a dire predicament that suggested imminant death. If they tried to climb, they would probably slip and fall, leaving them to die at the hands of the Crunchy troll. If they tried to fight the Crunchytroll, they'd be eaten. Anything they did would likely result in them being eaten.

"Damn you pallette swaps!" IF thought aloud. She looked down briefly and saw the Crunchytroll still wearing a stupid smile, patiently waiting for them to fall. "Why can't he just have a heart attack or something?"

A slashing sound came from below, but IF couldn't keep her neck turned to see what it was. Nepgear and Compa were still holding on to the sagging cliff wall, so IF knew it wasn't any of them. The low voice of the Crunchytroll ceased and silence imbued for a few seconds. A single footstep shifted in the darkness below, scraping the dust on the ground. A soft, young, female voice said with a carefree if not childish tone, "You can come down now. It's safe."

IF had no choice but to follow the words of the youthful girl below. It was either that or they hang off the edge of a sunlit cliff until it fell. Slowly climbing down, the group was smiled upon by a strangely dressed young girl.

She had long silver hair with bangs that narrowly missed covering up her eyes and made a sort of claw-like shape over her head. Her hair was quite luscious and flowing and was also tied in twin braids lying over her shield of hair. Strangely enough, she also had a sort of high-tech visor resting atop her head. She wore a sort of tight black robe-jacket-thing with a short skirt and her belly exposed. It wouldn't take much for someone to see her panties. On her arms were white detached sleeves with the top ends puffed out and little black belts on the lower end. On her wrists were thin gold rings that shone bright even in low light. Her white stockings had a black trim at the tip and a few black belts rested up there as well. Wrapped around her neck was a sort of cape with strands hanging down along her back that looked like steel swords. Hidden by the strands of her cape were a pair of wings, one greenish and one white. In her left hand was a very ornate, black scythe that looked sharp enough to cut through steel.

"Hi peoples." The girl waved her hand with a warm smile.

"Hello. Who might you be?" asked Nepgear.

Before the girl could introduce herself, a thunderous roar shook the caverns foundations and sent even more rocks tumbling. It was a running situation, there wasn't gonna be anything left of the cavern they were in.

"Save the introductions for later, we gotta move. Let's get going!" IF shouted, taking off back up the wall leading outside.

The rocks they were hanging off of had already fallen and the way up was a easy enough climb. The girls climbed up the dirty cliffside and escaped into the sunlit plain they desperately sought. Taking a deep breath, the girls, save for the new girl, needed a moment of reprieve before they established communications.

"Anyways, my name's Aksys. Nice to meet you all!" She rang with a positive energy that even Compa admired. She seemed pretty carefree, but that was based on the assumption made just from hearing her voice a few times. She also strangely twitched her head to the left on occasion.

Finally caught up on breath, Nepgear took the liberty of introducing herself, IF, and Compa. "The four of us are on a quest to reach Leanbox."

Aksys cocked her head to the side, looked around a little and asked, "Where's the fourth one? I only see three of ya."

"Oh, our fourth member is currently only a summon," IF briefly explained, almost forgetting all about it.

"Oh, that makes more sense. Anyways, mind if I come along? It's been uber boring lately, nothin' but fightin', fightin', and more fightin' for the people that come here." Aksys wore her casual and carefree face. Before they took off down the dirt trail that lined the edge of a glistening river, a loud roar shook the earth as a massive purple dragon with yellow horns soared out of the caves and headed towards Planeptune.

Compa pointed her finger up to the sky and shouted, "That dragon's headed for Planeptune!"

"We probably ought to stop it. That dragon looks pretty fierce and we wouldn't want the nation to suffer," Nepgear agreed with Compa.

Aksys didn't have any words to offer, but IF did. Shrugging her shoulders, IF started walking down the dirt trail, leaving her comrads behind as she said, "I'm sure someone else will take care of it."

Pouting, Compa said to IF, "Iffy, we have to take responsibility for our fair nation!"

"We've got a mission to perform Compa. If we don't move along with out mission, there won't be anything to come back to," IF stated, Aksys nodding and taking a brisk dash forward to catch up with IF. Compa was a little distressed and Nepgear knew IF wasn't being as irresponsible as she was mission wary. Understanding IF's point, the girls traveled in a group and traveled the dirt road that stretched the horizon ahead.

Calmed down and at ease in her airhead state, Compa watched the river intently. She saw that the fish were always fighting but in a strange way. "Hey, what are these fish doing?"

"The fishies are probably fighting again. They like to fight each other to choose who eats who. I think. Not entirely sure if that's what they do in there," Aksys briefly explained in a childish manner.

Compa's eyes widened as four multi-colored fish practically fused together, increasing their power and abilities. They fired little water bubbles at enemies and even fired little blue lasers and fish torpedoes.

"Goodness. They're really going at it there," Nepgear commented, looking into the river with Compa. Walking near the edge of the river, they spared little attention for their blindly walking feet. Aksys, feeling a little playful, gently pushed the two of of them, their balance ruined and their bodies plummeting into the water with a loud splash.

IF chuckled out of good will as Aksys laughed aloud at her own childish angst. The fish fighting in the river quickly scattered, leaving Compa and Nepgear in no real danger. The two of them smiled and giggled, Aksys offering a hand to the two of them to help them out of the river.

"Sowwy, couldn't resist!" Aksys laughed, helping clean their dripping clothes off with a brisk fire spell. Nepgear was a little wary of how close Aksys kept her flames to her wet clothes.

Nepgear and Compa giggled in good will, just as IF did. All dried off, they were ready to keep trekking down the dull dirt path etched into the ground, sharing tales with Aksys and the carefree girl doing the same...

I~~Attack~~-+-+-+-~~ Magic ~~I

I~~ Item ~~-+-+-+-~~Summon~~I

"It feels like it's been a year now since then. I can't believe I was ever like that," I spoke to Sheeva. We sat in the foyer of her Summon-Owned Mansion. The fireplace lit up the velvet chairs we sat on. I took the last sip of the tea she had made me a few minutes ago. My arm hurt just trying to grip the handle. For the past two hours, to keep me from peeking at my viewing orb to check up on my party, Sheeva talked to me about the deeper stuff of life, like philosophy and the things of my past. She seemed genuinely interested, that and she wanted to keep an eye on the "noob" of the Summon Plain.

"Careful with that arm. You took quite a nasty bruise there, don't work it too much," Sheeva warned me, reminding me to use my other hand.

Once my cup was empty, I set it down on the mahogany side table next to me and rested my bruised arm down on the comfortable chair. Once I took a deep breath, I chuckled and said, "Yeah, I probably shouldn't have challenged that dwarf to an arm-wrestling match."

Back when I was at the bar earlier, I was so drunk that I somehow got myself into an arm-wrestling match with a seriously strong dwarf. Needless to say, he clobbered me and once we left the bar, I felt the beer wear off and reveal the pain swelling up in my arm.

"I'll make you some more spirit tea. Wait here for a minute," Sheeva got up, taking the cup off to the nearby kitchen. She was quite elegant and kind, despite her chill-inducing appearance. While she was getting my tea, I slipped on my headphones and tuned into my music. I needed something to keep my mind at ease, so I played something a little soothing for my ears, tuning in my mind and, accidentally, my mouth.

"...angel, angel, what have I done? I've faced the quakes, the wind, the fire..."

"Do you always sing to yourself like that?" Sheeva asked, her voice reaching through my headphones and startling me a little. I slid off my headphones after my little listening session and shut my music off.

"Yeah," I chuckled, "it's a bit of a habit." I took a long sip of my tea and could already feel my arm healing. Sheeva said she put in a healing herb that would have my arm healed soon. She also said she had plans for later, which when she said that, I felt better vibes coming from it than if Bahumat had said it. While I relaxed, I checked my personal inventory to see if I still had any potions left that could speed up the healing. I didn't have any, but I did remind myself of something important. "Sheeva? Have you ever heard of an Ethereal Wireframe?"

Sheeva tried to hide a faint gasp as she heard those words. I wanted to smirk seeing her react like that, but I held it back. Patiently waiting for her to get through her slight shock, she said with a whisper, "Yes, I've heard of it. Why?"

"I would like to know where I'd find one here in the Spirit Plain. It's kinda important," I said humbly, keeping a calm voice while I took another drink of tea.

Sighing, she whispered, "I know where you can find it. But are you really sure you want to know?"

I nodded my head innocently and she continued. "Bahumat is the only one I know that has one. But that thing is all he has to remember his summoner that died in Castlescape. It wont be easy to pry that from him," The grim atmosphere was all I had expected. The Ethereal Wireframe is a legendary metal frame imbued with the power to safely transition spirits. I would need one if I ever wanted my secret plan to work right.

Accepting those terms, I nodded faintly and thanked Sheeva for telling me about that. She did me the favor of changing the subject to something a little more lighthearted. "Now, follow me to living room."

At the living room, a large TV was set up to play some gaming consoles on from Planeptune. Next to that TV was a gaming computer set up to a nice stereo system. I admired how well kept and complete the room was. In a nearby fridge was a full stock of the Spirit Plain's only energy drink brand, Infinite Throttle. Sheeva kindly offered me an Infinite Throttle after downing the last of my tea. She knew how weird tasting the spirit tea was for people that never tasted it.

"Shall we game a while?" asked Sheeva, holding a controller in her hands.

"I've got no objections to that," I picked up a controller of my own and she started up an old-fashioned alien killing game. "I'm surprised you have such a nice gaming setup."

Sheeva chuckled and said, "We may not live on the same plane as Gamindustry, but that doesn't mean we aren't updated. I'm actually quite the gamer myself." The look in her eyes was like that of a prideful queen. "I even once went on a guild raid with Lady Green Heart."

"Interesting. I still remember that one year I beat her at that MMORPG that used to be really popular a while back. What was it, Four Goddesses Online?" I asked, my memory failing to remember all the details. Sheeva's eyes grew wide as baseballs as she stared at me in disbelief.

"You beat Lady Green Heart? At gaming?" Sheeva asked bluntly. I nodded my head, filling her in on what I could. It was years ago that this happened, I was very young when I participated in that contest. The winner, which was whoever could beat Vert at a one-on-one battle, received a lifetime membership for the premium of Four Goddesses Online. We spent a good three hours just talking about our favorite games, something I really enjoyed doing. I hadn't got to just talk like that for a while, not even with my party I held so close to my heart...

I~~Attack~~-+-+-+-~~ Magic ~~I

I~~ Item ~~-+-+-+-~~Summon~~I

Walking down the dirt road for two hours provided the girls with little to do. Aksys was plenty entertained by the stories the girls told her, but just talking was boring to all of them. There hadn't been a single enemy since the caves, taken you didn't include the little fish that still battled in the river next to them. Finally, something in the scenery changed.

A sudden explosion of sound from the distance, disturbing their peaceful walk. In the distance, a thick veil of stormclouds formed above, replacing the heavenly white clouds with black demonic ones that spewed thunder in the distance. A doom and gloom quickly encompassed their travel and in the distance, a single yellow outline stood.

"Is that who I think it is?" Aksys asked herself, putting a hand over her eyes to make a little visor so she could see better. The closer they got, the more detail was handed to them about the yellow outline. It was revealed to be a girl in a short yellow dress and had very spikey hair with a multitude of lightning-shaped hairpins. On her neck was a strange green stone with a spark of electricity running through it.

Aksys immediately ran forward, paying her teammates little heed. IF, thinking fast, shouted, "Hey, wait up for us!"

They were only a meter or two from the strange girl. It was then the girl became even more weirder than normal. Her arms shook softly like a five-year-old hyped up on energy drinks and her hair was very frizzy. Her eyes captured the lightning in her pupils, the mark of electricity in her hollow stare.

"The lightning grows hostile around you," The girl said with a voice filled with eerie static.

"Never thought I'd see you again," Aksys said with a smirk, "How'd you get out of that grotto I sealed you in?"

"Who are you?" IF asked the shakey girl.

She offered no response in return, only continuing her blank stare at them, like a living lightning bolt staring down it's prey. A pair of lightning bolts struck right near Nepgear's foot, making her leap away and shout, "Goodness! That was way too close!"

The girl raised her shakey hand, pointing an unstill finger at Nepgear, and said with a dreary tone filled with static, "Peril Eyes can see the lightning grow hostile around you all. Peril Eyes declares you hostile."

"Just stand back kiddies, I've got this!" Aksys said with a cocky smirk. She leapt forward with her scythe drawn, dodging the ferocious lightning strikes with an unparallelled agility. Once Aksys was in range, she quickly shot around her scythe, Peril Eyes barely dodging in time. Her skin was getting nicked by the fast moving scythe and her clothes were starting to get scratches. That alone started to anger Peril Eyes, making the lightning that swarmed her grow faster and more spontaneous.

Peril Eyes stood blank and still as Aksys raised her scythe up high for the final blow. "I've got you know, you ain't getting away this time!" Aksys grinned. At the last second, Peril Eyes dodged without a sound, Aksys burying her scythe in the dirt. Eyes widened and her arms pumping furiously to get her scythe out of the ground, Aksys noticed Peril Eyes wearing a demonic grin and uttered, "Wuh-oh..."

A gauntlet of surging lightning bolts formed around Peril Eyes' arms as she reared back. She put her full force behind a single swing that injected pure electricity into Aksys. Aksys froze still with an expression of pain while electricity surged through her body wildly. Peril Eyes turned her attention to the rest of the group that immediately readied themselves for an onslaught of lightning.

"Compa, you get Aksys back on her feet. Nepgear, you get Aksys' scythe out of the ground, you're the strongest one here. I'll keep the lightning witch there busy. Go!" IF barked orders and then took off, letting her high agility level keep the lightning from hitting her. She worried about Peril Eyes' lightning punch, so she couldn't attack with her wing blades. The only thing she had to work with was her magics, which weren't many.

Once in range, IF had to stop to use her magics, which left Peril Eyes a moment to strike. She debated on whether she wanted to close in and use her lightning punch or strike her down from afar, but that moment of debate cost her dearly.

"Demonic Inferno!" IF scorched the distracted girl with no problem, but Peril Eyes was far from dead. A triplet of lightning bolts struck Peril Eyes and charged her full of energy. The lightning witch dashed forward with lightning circling her reared-back fist. IF was trying to dodge out of the way but anytime she moved, lightning would strike no more than a few centimeters from where she was going to step. Where she stood, IF was going to get a shock treatment she couldn't avoid.

Her arm reared back and ready to strike, Peril Eyes felt something dig into her stomach and stop her dead. The lightning around her arm disappeared and as she looked down, she saw a large broadsword digging into her.

IF saw the opportunity to strike, and after she commanded Nepgear to step away, dashed forward and used Spectral Edge to lacerate Peril Eyes. The lightning witch was getting royally pissed off and was severely injured. She had to make a last stand. Summoning forth hordes of lightning strikes from the dark clouds around, Peril Eyes grouped IF and Nepgear together.

"This should get you feeling better in just a minute," Compa said with a kind voice, finishing up healing Aksys who still couldn't move. The magic had to settle for a while because of the extensive amount of paralysis in Aksys. Compa's eyes, which were still focused on Aksys, were blinded for a second as a thunderous boom ruptured her hearing for a moment. It took a moment to realize what just happened, but once the lightning struck near her again, Compa fell to her rear, startled by how close the lightning got to her face. Inching closer and closer, Compa quickly started scooting backwards, away from the approaching lightning. She stopped when the back of her head hit something soft and slightly dirty. Compa looked up and saw a disgruntled face and a stream of brown hair.

"Iffy, can you make the lightning stop trying to zap me?" Compa asked in a slightly shaken voice.

"If I could, I would!" IF shot back. The three girls were grouped together by the ever moving and ever zapping electricity. Peril Eyes watched them with an evil grin and lightning circling both of her fists.

"This doesn't look good." Nepgear bluntly stated. Like a trio of rats cornered by a cat, they didn't have much of an option. Magic didn't do squat to the girl and anytime they tried to so much as take a step, lightning would cascade down to stop them. Peril Eyes walked closer and closer, still wearing that evil grin like her face was permanantly stuck like that.

"Hey, thunder bitch!"

Peril Eyes turned her head just in time to see Aksys ready to pierce her scythe into the lightning witch. Aksys swung her scythe with the head of it near the ground and rising up into Peril Eyes' stomach. The way Aksys swung her scythe made her look like a golfer from hell. Her prey caught on her scythe, the tip of the scythe poking out from Peril Eyes' back, Aksys turned around as she slammed her scythe, with the witch still on it, to the ground, breaking bones and grinding skin against the dirt path. Aksys circled her scythe around multiple times, smashing Peril Eyes into the ground like she was banging a hammer on an anvil. Done with her broken prey, Aksys used all her might to swing upwards and then stop dead, expelling her prey off the blade and into the sky.

Peril Eyes felt the wind surging through the gaping hole in her chest, blood soaking her dress. She knew the end had come and she was going to be visited by the 'lightning gods' soon enough. Her limp body slammed into the Aegis River with a mighty splash, sending scared fish away and soaking the nearby ground and grass. A yellow spot appeared in the dark sky above Peril Eyes. She reached her limp hand up and called forth an enormous lightning bolt. It struck her with an ear-shattering sound, electrocuting everything in the river.

Once the dust settled, Aksys cleaned the blade off with a small, hand-knit cloth that had her face etched in detail on it. "Told you I had it," Aksys joked.

"That was a little close, don't you think?" asked IF with a shocked expression.

"Eh, I've seen closer. Nobody's dead are they?" Aksys asked with a neutral expression. She knew nobody was actually injured from the fight, Peril Eyes wasn't very strong to begin with despite her intimidating powers. The only injury was actually on Aksys, a bruise left where Peril Eyes had punched her.

Compa took a look at Nepgear and IF, checking them out thoroughly. They weren't injured in the least bit, just a little on edge because of the fight. "She's right Iffy, everyone's A-OK!"

"See? Mission Accomplished," Aksys let out a shrug as she walked over to the Aegis River, gently dunking her cloth in to berid it of blood. Once it was clean, she dried it and stowed it away. The dark clouds quickly fled and revealed the shining sun once more, the cloudless sky clear of obstructions and peace resored. They began walking again, Aksys occasionally twitching her head to the left.

"Pardon me if I sound rude, but why do you keep twitching like that?" Nepgear asked, choosing her words carefully.

"I was wondering when one of you was going to ask about that," Aksys giggled, "Well, first time I met Peril Eyes was when I was very young. She was exactly the same as she was when you saw her, even used that whole hostile lightning excuse to attack me. Me being that young, I didn't know what to do, so I ended up taking a lightning bolt to the brain and now that twitch just hits whenever it wants. That's okay though, cause I sealed the bitch up in a grotto after causing a rockslide."

"Remind me not to get on your bad side," IF said with a brief smile.

Aksys laughed aloud and said, "Bad side? I hardly have one."

"You are pretty carefree," said Nepgear.

"Yuppers, just the way I want me. Wouldn't have me any other way." Aksys was going to continue, but the way she was talking confused her slightly. She had a little more of a bounce, an energy that seemed to come out of nowhere, probably from the fight. "So are you all really going to Leanbox?"

Nepgear nodded and IF replied, "Yeah, that's the plan anyways."

Aksys giggled happily and said, "I've never got to go there before! What's it like there?"

"It's like looking inside of a reaaaalllly big computer!" Compa cheerfully explained.

Tilting her head to the side in confusion, Aksys asked, "What's a computer?"

If giggled and asked, "You can't be serious, right?"

Aksys shrugged and said, "I have no idea what that is."

"How long have you been out here?" IF asked bluntly with a more serious expression.

"I've been living here since birth. Born and raised right here in Castlescape," Aksys said with a hint of pride. IF could tell she really wasn't joking.

Compa gasped and asked, "Are you like that monkey guy that swings around on vines and lives in a tree?"

Aksys raised a brow and said, "I'm not no tribal dude, I'm just as civilized as you are. I live in a house, ya know?"

"Where's your house at?" Nepgear asked.

"A little further east. I might have to show it to you sometime," Aksys explained with a smile. IF knew exactly what was about to happen and braced herself for the incoming question.

"So do you know about the CPUs or Basilicoms?" asked Nepgear. Aksys shook her head side to side and IF immediately thought in her head, "This journey just got a whole lot longer..."

I~~Attack~~-+-+-+-~~ Magic ~~I

I~~ Item ~~-+-+-+-~~Summon~~I

I had finished gaming with Sheeva a long time ago. Out and about in the streets, I had to find the gate leading to out of town. Bahumat lived in a solemn cave a little ways out from town. He had everything he needed in there, and the way Sheeva described it, it didn't sound half bad. Plus he could get to town anytime he wanted to.

Looking into the mouth of the cave, it was dark and tricky to see in, but the further in I went, the more lit up it became. Small torches dotted the path and lit the large cave up well. It smelled like that of a jungle, fresh and light. I turned a corner and saw just what I thought I would. A large underground garden encompassed by majestically flowing streams that poured out from cracks in the wall. It was like nature's altar and in the center was Bahumat, meditating quietly. I didn't want to disturb him if he was meditating, but the moment I tried to turn around, the scraping of my shoes on the dirt got his attention.

"Ah, Code! Come on in," Bahumat greeted me, gesturing for me to come in. I made my every step a careful one, trying not to accidentally crush any of the serene plantlife that made it's peace ever so close to the path. The sounds of the gracefully flowing water nearby was calming, but I still watched my step.

Bahumat had in the middle of the grotto a few tables and storage for his necessities. He had really set up shop in the peaceful grotto and, in a way, I envied him. It was so peaceful I could take a nap on the spot. Radiant light shone down from a large hole in the ceiling, keeping the dirt warm. "What is it you needed?"

"Well, I was wondering-" I stopped myself as I felt my heart rate increase. I felt so bad for wanting to ask him to relinquish something so dear to him, but if he knew the reason, I think he might.

"Go ahead, Code, don't worry. You can ask anything," Bahumat said with a tranquil voice and a peaceful smile hidden in his dragon-like face.

I took a deep breath and asked, "Would you be able to part with your Ethereal Wireframe?"

A silence encompassed us, not even the flowing water could pierce it. I felt a stinging in my chest that I asked something so unreasonable.

"That thing means a lot to me. It'd be hard to part with it," Bahumat broke the silence with a voice of sorrow. "But you, you're strong Code. I might make an exception."

I looked at him with unbelieving eyes. He narrowed his gaze at me and motioned that I follow him as he stood up. I had not a word to say on our way outside to the open plains. We stood out by a section of land that had only dirt and no grass. Bahumat turned to face me and said, "If you truly seek this frame, you'll need to beat me at combat. Don't worry, we won't fight to the death, it's a mere spar to see who's strongest."

"Against you?! There's no way..." I gasped in concern. My body was still recovering from my arm wrestling competition with a single dwarf, there wasn't any way in hell I could beat such a mighty opponant.

Bahumat, much to the contrast of the current situation, laughed and said, "I'm a lot older than you think, I don't even know just how strong I still am."

I charged forward when he was ready, Grindrix held still in my blade...

I~~Attack~~-+-+-+-~~ Magic ~~I

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"Mommy and Daddy are going away for a while, okay?" Joy asked the young Code. Code just stared blankly at her, either unhappy or expectant of what was just about to happen.

"I know, you hate being left alone. Normally we'd get a real babysitter, but, well you know why we can't." Rob said with a disappointed voice. Looking at Joy, he half-heartedly smiled and looked back down at Code, who still looked at them in a blank expression.

"But, we did leave you a little present downstairs. Come on, at least come see it before we leave," Joy took Code's little hand and led him downstairs, out of the bedroom they had to all share. Downstairs, in front of the TV was a big box with the title, "Axe Hero" plastered on it in big letters. Code smiled and walked towards the big box, examining all the details on it.

"I thought they stopped selling it?" asked Code in a mellow voice.

"I'd been searching for it for a while. That old arcade we used to go to bought one and never used it, so I figured that you'd want it." Rob rested a firm hand on Code's shoulder. Code looked up at him and was immediately somber once more, reminded of what was going to happen again. His parents never stayed home long, and he resented them for that. Code still loved them, but he resented them for being away so long.

"Mommy and Daddy love you, we'll be back soon, promise," Joy made an empty promise. She didn't know if they'd be back at all, but they wanted to at least hope that Code would forgive them one last time.

"Okay. I'll be here," Code said with a submissive sound before going over to open the Axe Hero box. Joy opened the door and walked out, Rob looking back to Code and saying, "You should check your e-mail by the way. There's someone waiting for you there. See ya later son, remember, no looking up porn on the computer."

Code giggled and waved goodbye to him as he quickly rushed over to the family laptop. He was only seven but he knew quite well how to work a computer. Onto his e-mail in seconds flat, he saw only one message that stood out amongst the rest of his gaming-related e-mails. It was message sent from someone named Lyrica.

"Uh, hi. I'm one of your relatives. Your parents did me a big favor a while back. I don't know if you know about it, but your parents wanted me to check in with you every now and again. If you ever need anything, feel free to ask, okay?"

The message seemed hastily written and a little error-prone, but Code could still make out what she meant to say in most of the message. Code quickly began typing a response message.

"It's nice to meet you Lyrica. I'm Code. Thank you for the kind favor, I'll let you know if there's anything I need. The same goes to you as well, if there's anything I can help you with, go ahead and ask."

Once he was finished with that, he turned on the TV while finishing up opening the Axe Hero box. On the news was a report about a rise in violence worldwide. Competition surged throughout the world and some of the other nations were going into a temporary recession to fix the problem.

Code looked at the door his Dad had closed on the way out and whispered in a concerned voice, "I've got a bad feeling about this. A very bad feeling..."

I~~Attack~~-+-+-+-~~ Magic ~~I

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I woke up a moment later with sunlight pouring into my eyes. It blinded me and made me shut them tight as I rolled to the side. My whole body screamed in pain as I moved.

"Stay still, Code. You're still healing," a deep voice instructed. I fell onto my back and layed limp as my eyes adjusted to the sun peering into the hole in the rocky ceiling.

"What happened?" I asked in a hoarse voice.

"Sadly, you lost friend. I'm sorry," Bahumat replied with a sad sounding voice. Secretely, I knew he wasn't sad that he didn't have to part with the Ethereal Wireframe, but it made me even sadder that I'd have to find another one myself.

"I expected as much," I sighed deeply. "I'm not strong enough yet."

Bahumat helped me up so that I could at least sit while the medicine he gave me kicked in. "If you don't mind me asking, what was it you needed that for?"

I hoped that maybe, just maybe, if I told him the absolute truth, he might have enough reason to hand it over. I told him everything, about my secret plan, about what all I had collected thus far. Bahumat just sat with a stern expression, thinking silently while applying more of an herbal remedy on my injuries. For such a large beast, he had a very gentle touch.

"You may not have as much physical strength as your elders, but," Bahumat let out a sigh and said, "You have more willpower and courage than anyone I've ever seen. You can have it. You have a good enough reason. I'm sure my summoner would want you to have it."

I was speechless as he gave me the wireframe. It was quite a sight, it almost looked like an opened-up capsule fit for a human but it was like a wireframe made of obsidian. It was just as stories said it was and since I had it, I was one step closer to making my plan a reality.

"Thank you so much," I thanked him with a heart ready to fly out of me at any second. I felt rejuvinated from achieving what was probably the rarest item on my list of things I needed for my secret plan.

"But to be honest-" Bahumat chuckled, "you put up one helluva fight. I won't lie, that little blade of yours has some sharpness about it."

My eyes widened as I asked quickly, "Where's Grindrix?"

"Don't worry, I got it laying up on the table over there," Bahumat pointed to a nearby table. I could barely see it, but I indeed did see Grindrix's blade poking out from over the edge of the table. I let out a sigh of relief and relaxed my body. Something still bothered me though, and Bahumat could tell just by looking at my expression.

"Something on your mind?" he asked, sitting down in a meditating pose.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just thinkin' about some things." I dismissed my worries, but I knew something was off. I had dreamed about my childhood for the first time ever. But it was different. Histoire told me that my parents abandoned me at birth but what I saw in my dream said something entirely different. There was the chance however that Histoire might've made a mistake. Or that I might've made one...

I~~Attack~~-+-+-+-~~ Magic ~~I

I~~ Item ~~-+-+-+-~~Summon~~I

There was only one stretch left, IF knew it. They were past the Aegis River and waited at a huge stone gate that IF and Compa had to wait for Aksys to open. Only she knew the secret way into Midway Fortress.

"Wonder why this place fell apart like this? It's kinda sad," Compa asked, looking at the stonework gate held tight and covered in vines. No matter what IF did, she couldn't help but feel the place radiate the "dungeon-crawl" vibe.

"I think I heard something about this place losing all it's funds and just kinda dried up. They had some good stuff but lost all their ability and died out," IF explained to her best knowledge.

"I got it done!" Aksys cheered, waving to the group and wearing a very cheerful smile. Nepgear stood behind Aksys smiling nervously and then turning her head to face the interior of the mighty wall that kept out all unwanted visitors. IF and Compa met the other two in the group at the gates and they all peered inside at once. The courtyard looked utterly trashed, like a giant ape had trampled through it. Pillars of ancient runes had been toppled and crushed and the stonework pavement was hardly in one piece. What was still standing was covered by vines and worn apart by erosion.

They stepped with every footstep crushing more stones to bits. The structures were truly weakened and IF grew sketchy about possibly having to go in there. Aksys thought nothing of it, she'd been there many a time before and knew what was going on, but didn't reveal that to anyone. She thought it'd be more of a surprise and an adventure that way.

IF saw no way to get in, but did see an entrance blocked by an easily movable stone pillar. Utilizing her strength, she cleared the way and shouted over her shoulder, "Over here girls!"

Grouping around IF, they all peered down the dark hallway. IF directed Compa to stay in the middle of the group. They'd need to go down one at a time and Compa would need to use her light orbs in order to see.

"But, but, I can use my fire to light the way!" said Aksys with a saddened look.

"Yeah, but there's also that slight chance you might set something on fire," IF reasoned. "Plus Compa needs the XP anyways."

Aksys pouted a little and then shrugged, taking the back of the group. Dust escaped the ceiling with every step forward. They went down some steps and around some corners, hoping the next move would bring them closer to a more open area.

"I'm starting to get a little claustrophobic here..." said IF in disdain.

Like magic, their next corner brought them to an open hallway. The fog of war clouded their vision farther ahead and dust shifted at their approach. The whole hall was made of aged stone with vines creeping out of the walls and floors. The walls were desolate save for an odd plaque that IF went to investigate.

She took a gentle hand and dusted off the old plaque that looked like a tournament bracket. Some of the names were eroded away but IF could still make out some of them. Not that it helped much, the names were completely foreign to her or any of the others.

"Hey, what does that name say?" asked Compa, pointing to the upper-leftmost name.

IF snickered along with Nepgear as Aksys read the name, "That says Noob. Why are you two trying to laugh?"

"Code would be having a fit right now if he was here." IF giggled, Nepgear nodding her head.

"Who's Code again?" asked Aksys, her head twitching to the left again.

"That's our fourth party member," Compa explained, sticking with the group wherever they moved to. The further they went down the hall, the more eerie things got. Blood splatters coated the walls and odd sounds and voices could be heard beyond the walls.

"Anyone else hearing that?" IF asked the group, walking a little closer to the wall.

"Yeah, I've been hearing them for a while now. I don't know what they're saying though." Nepgear replied.

Aksys put her ear closer to the wall and said, "It sounds like it's saying 'Fight' or something like that."

"Really?" asked Compa, "I hear them saying 'Fatality'"

"I couldn-" IF stopped and gasped as she almost walked into a large lizard corpse riddled with cuts and blood stains. It was starting to decompose and once everyone realized it was there, they quickly smelled the putrid odor and backed away.

"Let's move. Now," IF commanded, walking quickly past the corpse without any further investigation. Once they were past the terrible smell and at a T-section in the hallways, they caught their breath and speculated which way they should go.

"Tellin' you guys, we should go left. I've been here before!" Aksys tried and tried to convince the group.

"And if you're wrong?" IF asked with a doubting voice.

Aksys pouted and crossed her arms. IF chose to ignore her while they thought about which way to go. Nepgear suggested that they split up, but IF vouched against that, stating that they weren't going to risk any accidents. The halls were creepy enough with the four of them, only two in a group wouldn't help them as much as it would hinder them.

IF sighed and shrugged and said, "Guess we'll go with nature girl's opinion."

"Yay! Let's go!" the cheerful Aksys took off down the left hallway.

IF quickly took off after Aksys, shouting, "Dammit, will you quit taking off without us!" The rest of the girls stayed close together, eventually ignoring the strange noises and aged blood splatters. Weaving through another set of tightly packed hallways, they swarmed out into a street-like tunnel. The ground looked like an ancient highway, cars crashed and crushed all down the way. "Looks like a cop chase went through here." IF remarked.

A few dozen cars and skid marks later, a giant amass of broken car corpses blocked the path forward. Glass scattered amongst the floor IF and Nepgear stepped on, the two looked for any sort of passage through.

"If we had some way to knock the bottom cars out of place, we could topple them over," Nepgear speculated. The problem that she was working on was who would be strong enough to move the cars. Aksys was only good at cutting and slicing, as was IF and herself. Compa definitely wasn't strong enough, so they were left with no options.

"Hold on girls, I got this." Aksys smiled as she took her scythe's blade and propped it against the bottom center car and began to pull, using the scythe as a hook to pull out the car. She grunted trying to get the car to move, her face turning red the more she struggled. About to give up, Aksys slouched down just enough to keep her from being hit by one of the upper cars that suddenly shot out and slammed into the wall further back.

A cyborg-like creature clambered out of the dust, jumping up and slamming it's elbow into Aksys' back, shoving her to the ground.

"Help! Help!" Aksys shouted, confused and trapped. The half-man, half-machine crossbreed slammed his fist on her back, dealing chunks of damage until Nepgear used Mirage Dance and stopped the odd foe. It fell off to it's side, bleeding and short-circuiting. A tad bit fascinated by the cyborg, Nepgear cautiously approached the inactive machine-man. Flesh slowly peeling off and revealing red muscle underneath, the man had little of his humanity left. He wore next to nothing, only a pair of tattered shorts and had only a little hair atop his head. Most of him was machine and what little of him was still flesh and bone was slowly decaying. On his odd chestplate piece read, "CY-15"

Finished examining the cyborg, the girls quickly scurried over the barricade of car corpses and moved further down the highway. IF thought aloud, "I think that at one point, this was used as a trading route between Lowee and Leanbox. These vehicles are way too updated to be here of all places."

"So is this what you have in those big cities?" asked Aksys, looking inside a mostly-intact car that had it's windshield busted out. She was eager to look inside, minding her hands so she didn't scrape them on any rigid shards of glass. IF had deduced that, considering Aksys's behavior, Aksys had never actually been down in the fortress before.

Aksys quickly caught up with IF and the others, admiring the scenery as she went. Upon approaching a delivery van with it's back doors wide open, IF's expression quickly grew lively. A few dozen odd white rocks had spilled out of a box in the back of the delivery van, each one glowing in an odd color.

"What is it Iffy? Found another rock for your rock collection?" asked Compa innocently. She casually picked up one of the rocks and looked at it with confusion.

IF's eyes grew big as she harshly whispered to Compa, "Hey, nobody's supposed to know about that!" IF looked back at the others and said hastily, "I have no rock collection. Got it?"

The other two of them nodded their heads and asked what the big deal was about the rocks pouring out of the van. IF explained to them, "Years ago, Lowee lost a shipment of ores that were said to give insane power to anyone that used them. After that, Lowee blamed Leanbox for losing the shipment and they've been enemies for a while now because of it."

With a smile on her face, Compa said, "Now we can give these back to Lowee and help them and Leanbox be friends again!"

"Or we could sell them on the market for high prices," said IF, wearing a mischievous grin.

"Bad Iffy! We need to help them be friends again," Compa scolded IF and then helped pack the boxes into the group inventory. Luckily it counted as a single item, so they didn't need to waste a full inventory to store them for later. Further down the highway, their path was blocked by rubble and debris. The only other way to go was through an old soda parlour. The aged sign hanging off the wall read, "Tapper".

"This place still gives me the creeps..." said Compa, clinging to IF like a scared child.

"You and me both. Is this place haunted or something?" IF asked.

Aksys shrugged and said, "I couldn't say. Feels like it could be haunted."

IF narrowed her gaze at Aksys and asked, "You really haven't been down here before have you?"

"Yes I have!" Aksys sternly responded, where IF just rolled her eyes and sarcastically said, "Yeah, and I've been here many times too."

The door to the soda parlour opened with a rigid creak and once it was open, it fell off entirely, smacking the ground and scattering dust. Cobwebs and dust shaded the room a desolate aging grey. Compa's orbs lit up the room, but didn't alleviate the darkened and depressing tone encompassed around what once was a cheerful and active place. The assorted footsteps of the girls resounded in the room.

On the walls were assorted posters for various soft drinks, some help-wanted ads, and a bunch of posters about some ultimate ninja showdown. When IF, Compa, and Nepgear grouped around the most intact poster, they were able to make out that long ago there was a competition for fighters all around to compete for a land-grab.

The three of them froze when they heard a bizaare slurping noise. IF whispered, "Compa, shine your light on the target and Nepgear, be ready to attack with me," Shining light on the origin of the slurping noise, Nepgear and IF were about to attack when they realized it was Aksys slurping soda out of the soda dispensors.

"Would you stop that?" IF commanded, "That soda's probably older than you are!"

Aksys, taking her mouth off the nozzle to speak, shot back, "What? I was thirsty!"

IF sighed and said, "Let's get out of here before we end up killing ourselves or something."

Walking out the opposite door they came in, the four girls were greeted by yet another street, but this one was even more ravaged than the last. Bullet holes riddled the walls, oil spills dotted the street, and hardly a car was left in one piece. At least the path was clear and easy to navigate, and from what IF could tell, there wasn't any enemies around. The path was long though, much too long. Nepgear was even starting to lose her patience with the long journey...

I~~Attack~~-+-+-+-~~ Magic ~~I

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A few years had passed. Sitting down and opening the present he got from Lyrica, Code had already celebrated his tenth birthday with hardly a soul to keep him company. The only one that ever talked to him was Lyrica. They didn't talk too much, but Code was still glad to have her around and Lyrica was very kind to him and helpful. She even taught him how to sing through some advice she gave. Before Code knew it, he was singing to himself all the time, reminded of Lyrica and her comfort every time he starting singing. She tried many times over the years to help him find friends, despite herself not having too many either. Finally, Code gave up on making friends and just focused on what he wanted. Code finally got open the present and dug out it's contents. It was a little late, but that was due to Lyrica being in Leanbox and Code living in Planeptune. He pulled out an enormous pair of headphones made by a company named Titan. He almost wanted to cry as he held the box in his hands. His only relative was ever so kind to him, he wished that he could be with her right then and there.

Bucking up and going over to sitting at his desk with his own custom-built laptop he made himself, he read a message that Lyrica sent a week ago, two days after his birthday.

"Are you sure you want to do something like that? Surely there's other jobs you can take. I mean, you can go for it, but it's hard work and it hurts a lot. If you're really wanting to go for it, I won't stop you, but please be careful."

Code appreciated the concern greatly. It was something he didn't get a lot of. His parents were still gone, he had no friends, his only relative that would even acknowledge his existance other than Lyrica, and he was quickly running out of money to keep the house going. Lyrica had to show him how to pay taxes and bills and such. Somehow Code was able to scrape together the money for whatever else he needed, but he was running out of options.

Looking over to his Axe Hero controller he loved so dearly, the last gift from his parents, he knew what he had to do. He was worried he'd break it by modifying it, but he looked extensively into what he was going to do. Responding to Lyrica, Code briskly told her, "Don't worry. I'll be fine. I know the Colosseum is dangerous and all, what with the respawning device only being a prototype, but I've gotta do something. I can't keep relying on you to keep me going. I won't make this harder on you, I need to take responsibility and do all that I can. I need to be strong. Dad would want me to be strong.

P.S. Thanks so much for the gift. You really are the best relative I've ever had."

After he sent that message, Code prepared his sacred controller for the modification of a lifetime. Sharpened steel at the ready and his mind focused on what he knows is right and necessary, Code began working, and working, and working all that night.

When the morning came to Code with a bright sun and a cloudless sky, he slowly opened his eyes and raised his head. Smiling brightly at his perfected weapon, he said to himself, "You'll be my first friend. Now what to name you?"

Code left that question be for a moment while he checked his e-mail for any replies from Lyrica. He used to grow ever so excited to talk to someone besides himself, but that feeling had died just as the rest of his emotions did. He opened the first message he had, which was a reply from Lyrica.

"Alright, well do your best okay? I'll be rooting for you. Take care, Code."

Code left it at that. He had the feeling it was a final farewell, and a negative vibe shot through him. He was scared a little, going on his own from then on. Knowing it was a tough road, he told himself that he'll need to stay strong. Lyrica held him up all that time and though she couldn't do as much as she wanted to, she gave him what he needed to push forward on his own. The final step however was up to him.

Picking up his battleaxe, he spoke softly, "Grindrix. I hereby dub you Grindrix. You will be a testament and the last string of hope I have to hold on to. I'll be strong, from here on out, I am a man, not a weak boy..."

I~~Attack~~-+-+-+-~~ Magic ~~I

I~~ Item ~~-+-+-+-~~Summon~~I

The end of the tunnel was finally in their sight. Well, their path was blocked off up ahead by more rubble. IF secretely grumbled, "Can't a certain person coming up with the design for this place come up with a better excuse than rubble?"

Compa, looking over at IF said, "Be nice Iffy, I'm sure they worked very hard to come up with this place!"

And just upon saying that, Compa slipped and fell, something solid darting out from under her feet. Nepgear helped her up while IF and Aksys took a look at what Compa just slipped on. It was a license plate reading, "TG-6155" and was marked with the symbol for Lowee.

"Ouchies...that hurt..." Compa rubbed her head as she stood up.

"Why does that license plate number sound familiar?" IF asked Aksys. Aksys only shrugged in response and followed Nepgear and IF to a doorway on the side of the tunnel. It was the only way forward, so they had to go with it for the moment. It was packed but short. They could already see a distant light at the end of the hall.

Entering a large chamber, there was a bunch of old crates and a trio of tents set up around a large fire in the middle of the chamber. That fire sat next to a well-like structure that three oddly dressed girls were shoving a winged body down.

"Hot damn, that's the third Valkyrie we've taken out this week!" a girl in a purple dress said. The girl wore a purple dress, black tights, and had short purple hair with purple beads holding a ponytail.

Another girl, one dressed in yellow, gasped and said, "Dams can be hot? Well, I guess in summer they could be..."

"Ah, shut it you ditz. Don't take things so literally." the purple girl shot back in a vulgar tone.

"I'm not a ditz..." the girl in yellow replied in sadness. She wore a yellow dress with a star-shaped cloth covering up her breasts. Her long blonde hair was dotted in star-like accessories and on one leg she had kneesocks on and wore a high-heeled sandal and on the other leg she had a high-heeled pump. IF assumed she was high as hell when she got dressed last.

"Aw, I'm sorry there kiddo. Cheer up." The purple girl replied, patting the yellow girl on the head.

The third girl stood completely silent. She was the most odd about the three already strange girls. She had long grey hair and wore an armored grey dress. Wearing steel greaves and wielding a long halberd, she constantly adjusted a pair of giant headphones on her head and had a steel plate over her mouth that looked like the bottom of a knight's helm. Her eyes were completely hidden by grey bangs as well.

Aksys gasped and said loudly, "I know you three! You're those weird robbers that's been living down here for three years!"

IF jumped as soon as Aksys cheerily attracted attention to the four girls. "Are you trying to get us killed?" asked IF.

The three girls all turned around, looking at Nepgear and her party with devilish grins.

"What have we here? A squad of girls looking to play?" the purpled girl asked with contempt.

"We need to get to Leanbox. Can we please pass through here, purple lady?" Compa tried to ask nicely, but IF knew that wasn't going to get them far.

The purple girl laughed and said, "Maybe we might. Hand over everything you have and you can go on ahead."

IF scoffed at the girl and said, "Like hell we will!"

"Them's fightin' words! Should we git 'em girls?" the purple one asked her teammates.

"We can get them? Like toys or something?" asked the yellow girl with a happy voice.

The purple girl nodded and said, "You can play with these toys all you want!"

The grey girl primed her lance and the yellow girl got out a chain-blade.

"Just who are you circus freaks?" IF asked with her wing blades at the ready.

"If you must know, I guess it'll give you a name to call out when you beg for mercy." The purple girl put on an air of cockyness and introduced their group, "I'm Poy Sin. The yellow ditz over there is Cun Fuoos and the grey quiet one is Sigh Lance. Anyways, time to die bitches!"

Poy Sin grabbed a handful of knives coated with a sickening purple tint and hurled them at IF. Just barely dodging, IF shot forward along with Nepgear at her side. Sigh Lance immediately went for Compa, her halberd slashing at Compa with Aksys parrying with her scythe.

"Don't hit the mage! Mages are squishy!" Compa shouted, moving back away from the rabid lancer. Aksys was doing good at parrying Sigh Lance and returned a few shots when she could, but before Aksys could drive off Sigh Lance, a sudden force closed in on her throat. When Aksys looked down, she saw a reflection of herself in a blade tethered to a chain. The chain wrapped tight around her neck, forcing her to the floor as it pulled her through the dust and closer to Cun Fuoos.

Smiling wickedly, Cun Fuoos pulled in her prey. Aksys struggled but slowly stopped. The more she moved, the more she was choked. Once Aksys was vulnerably sitting at Cun Fuoos's feet, she kneeled down and said with a soft breath, "I'm going to enjoy playing with you..."

Her face near Aksys's, she kissed her on the cheek, sending the girl into a daze before standing back up. Aksys couldn't figure out what hit her, sitting there with a dumbfounded expression, eyes staring at nothing while her friends fought for their very lives.

Compa weaved in and out of near-lethal swipes from Sigh Lance's blade. She was quick enough to dodge for a moment, moving her back and hips to keep from taking damage, but that wouldn't last. Just when she thought she was safe, Compa took a direct blow in her lower chest from the halberd. Blood grew thick around the wound and coated the halberd that quickly exited her chest and aimed for someone else. Compa's first thought was to use her magic to heal, but when she tried to speak, nothing came out. Panicked that she'd been muted, she tried and tried to call out a healing spell with nothing happening. She couldn't use an item either, leaving her defenseless.

"Nepgear, go help Compa! I'll deal with-" IF stopped speaking as a sharp knife dug into her skin and sent dozens of poisoning agents into her blood. The poison quickly took over and made IF's movements sluggish and slowly drained her health.

Poy Sin taunted her with a provocative voice and a tongue stuck out at her, saying, "You couldn't hit me before and you sure as hell can't hit me now!"

Nepgear came up against Sigh Lance blocking her path. Dodging the halberd swings, Nepgear used Slash Wave to knock away the quick lancer. Dashing to Compa's side, Nepgear frantically searched her inventory for something useful.

"I can only heal your wound. I don't even know why you can't speak, so I can't heal it! Stay safe," Nepgear commanded, using a potion to heal Compa's grisly wound. But the match was far from over, Sigh Lance came back with a vengeance, her blade aimed not for Nepgear, but for Compa. Compa quickly took off like a mouse running from a cat, Sigh Lance following close behind.

Nepgear was about to take off to help Compa when IF shouted, "Get Code! We're screwed if we don't get him!"

In saying that, IF took another knife to the shoulder, the poison in her body replicating at insane speeds and getting close to killing her. Nepgear knew what had to be done and planted her sword in the ground, beginning the summon.

"Uh-oh, looks like we've got a summoner!" Poy Sin said in an annoying voice that made IF want to throw up more than the poison did.

"I got it boss!" Cun Fuoos untied the dormant Aksys and swung her chain-blade at Nepgear, wrapping the chain around her arm and pulling her out of her summoning circle. Nepgear was now being pulled in by Cun Fuoos and if she was taken down too, all was lost.

"Heletic Nova!"

A vicious nova blinded everyone, a sun itself blowing up and dealing damage to the three bandits ready to take the lives of her friends, Aksys took the opportunity to use her best move and save the day. When Nepgear could see again, her arm was free and she quickly rushed back to the summoning circle, giving a quick smile and nod to Aksys as she summoned a grand hero to banish the three evil bandits.

The gates opened once again and I, woken abruptly from my dream, stepped out to the field and almost hit my head on the ceiling. Looking around, I could see three cowering faces that I didn't recognize and immediately assumed that those were the enemies I was tasked to destroy.

"What have we here? A trio of troublemakers looking to get their asses kicked?" I smiled, holding my axes firmly.

"Just rough 'em up a bit Code, don't kill them." IF instructed me, using an antipoison she had saved for emergencies.

I gave an unsatisfied smirk and said, "Oh, I just don't know if I could spare them now. It might be too hard for me to do that."

Rushing for the purple girl, I dodged knives and took knives, completely ignoring my pain factor just to take an undefended swing at her. My axe dug a gash into her arm, and with that momentum, I swung my other axe to put a larger wound in her chest. Thrusted on her back, she crawled away, smirking and wincing at the same time. I took the hint and sidestepped, a halberd swinging right next to me. Nepgear took her foot and pinned the blade down while I snapped it with my axe. Stepping back, the grey, armored girl was unarmed. I saw the yellow girl rushing up with her chain blade, but all it took was a well-thrown axe to pin her to the wall. The bar for my summon, shorter than before, only had seconds left. I quickly stomped the grey one into submission.

As my portal appeared, I told Nepgear, "Heal them all up when you're done if you can. We must try to keep the blood off our hands if at all possible."

Nepgear smiled and said, "I will. Thank you big bro."

I waved goodbye and took off for the Spirit Plain to sleep again. Bahumat's little grotto was a great spot to sleep at.

The gate to the Spirit Plain closing shut and scattering the dust around the room, Aksys burst out in amazement, shouting, "Who was that guy?! He was totally awesome and so cool!"

"That's Code, my somewhat-big brother," Nepgear explained briefly, gathering the group back together. Compa could finally speak again but was still so mortified at losing her voice that she couldn't say much. IF was back to normal and Aksys clearly was.

"I wanna get to know that dude, he was so uber cool!" Aksys still cheered and prattled on about it. While Aksys went on about it with Nepgear, IF and Compa led the way out. The path was a narrow staircase leading way high up. The sun shone down and nearly blinded IF as she led onwards, but once she was back outside and smelling fresh air, she let her eyes adjust all they wanted to while she enjoyed some dust-free air. The birds chirped from nearby trees and the gentle breeze made the short grass sway.

Aksys stretched her bones, took a deep breath, and said, "Feels great to be back outside again."

"You said it. Nothing beats the great outdoors!" Compa added, hitting the dirt trail with IF and the others without a complaint in the world.

Nepgear didn't want to detract from the atmosphere, but felt she absolutely had to say something. "Hey Aksys?"

"What is it Neppy-Gear?" Aksys had adopted a nickname for the shy girl already, making her face turn a little red.

"Thanks a lot for coming with us. We surely would've died back there if you weren't around," Nepgear spoke with honest words and a friendly smile.

Aksys wore an even bigger smile and replied, "It's no problem! Thanks for having me along, hope you don't mind me sticking around for a while. Like I said, it's been so zetta boring here."

"How do you call all that boring?!" asked IF loudly, scaring a couple birds away. Compa managed to get one of the scared birds to perch on her finger, where she then pampered the little thing with care and attention. Nepgear giggled and watched.

Aksys shrugged and said, "It's the land of the RPG. Stuff like this is typical when you've lived here as long as I have."

I~~Attack~~-+-+-+-~~ Magic ~~I

I~~ Item ~~-+-+-+-~~Summon~~I

"They're almost at the gate you know?" Sheeva asked me, watching the same orb I watched. I actually had no idea they were close to the gate leading into Leanbox. It saddened me a little.

"It's a shame, but I knew it was inevitable," I responded with little despair. It was the end of being a summon, and a farewell to good friends, but I was stronger. Much stronger than years ago when my parents left, much stronger than when Lyrica and I drifted off, I wasn't the same as I was then. I had the will of a warrior, and I wasn't about to lose that.

I looked up at Bahumat and then down to Sheeva and thought about how much fun I had just hanging out with good people, or rather, good monsters or whatever they were technically called. "I can safely say I've had a good time here."

"As have we," Sheeva wore a frosty smile and Bahumat let out a hardy laugh. We all sat around at Bahumat's grotto, hidden under a veil of stars embedded in the night sky. Even at night, the grotto didn't lose it's peace or tranquility. I looked back down at the sphere lit by the pale moonlight. IF and the others were leaping with joy that they were at the gate and when I saw that green steel gate, my heart sunk a little. I was sad about leaving Bahumat and Sheeva, but I was happy too. I had only just then realized how much of me had changed, how open I had become.

I stood up and walked over to Bahumat, still in his meditating pose. Raising a hand to him and said, "You'll be missed friend."

He laughed and smiled, then took my tiny hand and tried to shake hands without breaking any of my bones. "Take care comrad, and take good care of those girls! You got quite a catch there friend, keep 'em safe."

Looking over to Sheeva, she smiled and stood up, giving me a pat on the back and saying, "Stay strong kid. You're gonna go far."

With that said, I was slowly vanishing and being taken back to my party. Parting was such sweet sorrow, but I was stronger than to cry. I told myself not to grieve as if they were going to die or that I was going to. I told myself that it's just another good memory to keep in my head, a good memory to keep me going further on my crazy adventure...


	17. Stay a While, and Listen!

Bet you all thought I was dead, huh? Well, I was there for a while, and I've respawned!

Jokes aside, it feels good to be back. My writing skill's gotten a little rusty, so this one's not gonna be too epic, if anything, it'll be quite heavy on the dialogue. Be prepared for the words and a possible exposition dump (it's not too long, but yeah...). Yeah...college induced hiatus didn't do any good for my writing skill. However, I managed to get myself back in the groove of things enough to bring new content, and for those that may not know, I repaired the previous chapters so they are readable now! Like seriously, first chapter isn't horrific anymore. Anywho, this chapter's been a long time in the making, but I haven't abandoned the fanfic yet! I refuse to abandon it! And with those words of motivation, enjoy the chapter my friends.

* * *

><p>"So, have fun dungeon crawling?" I asked IF, stretching my arms and legs. I rested on the bench next to Compa and Nepgear, who still worked on applying level-up points and managing equipment and the like. I didn't have anything to do in the Leanbox checkpoint.<p>

"Would've been more fun level-grinding. At least we'd get a reward out of that. We went through Castlescape and all we got was," IF pointed toward the newcomer, "_that_..."

Sarcastically, avoiding Aksys' piercing gaze of admonishment, I said, "Oh, you mean the fruit loop that has her eyes on me like a child to an arcade."

"You're just so...cool!" Aksys replied, stars gleaming in her eyes.

I gave her two soft pats on the head, saying to her softly, "Yes, yes, little one. I know."

"He's like an awesome action figure you'd buy at the store!" she remarked.

I sighed and uttered, "I can't tell if she's complimenting me as a person, or as a plaything."

Compa giggled, as did Nepgear. I was glad they were enjoying it. In the meantime, I was trying to think of ways to get the psycho one to chill out.

"Aksys, you should let Cody have his space. He'll get too nervous if you stay so close to him." said Compa.

"I agree," said IF, "besides, we don't want his ego swelling up."

I scoffed loudly and said, "You're one to talk!"

Everyone was finally ready to go after around an hour of me dealing with the problem child. We couldn't get moving soon enough. Leaving the grey checkpoint, the only thing standing between us and Leanbox was an expansive footbridge decorated with complex stonework, gleaming support beams, and a crap ton of scorch marks lining the way.

Aksys gasped, her eyes shining as bright as the steel of Leanbox's gate. "Is this Leanbox?"

"Yup, ten percent neon, twenty percent metal, and seventy percent metal polish," remarked IF.

"What's neon? Or metal polish?" asked Aksys.

I rolled my eyes and groaned, "Someone buy her a dictionary..."

We walked a little closer to the gates, spotlights glaring at us as we approached. With heavy-duty steel walls and advanced locks encompassing the doors, we questioned if we were walking into Leanbox or a prison. Metallic birds wandered about above Leanbox, and metallic eyes adjusted to our presence. The grand doors of shining, green metal opened up with a rigid hiss, letting out a stuffy air that smelled of fresh plastic. As we walked to the interior of the checkpoint, we were scanned by a red, sweeping beam. I thought nothing of it, but Aksys was startled.

"It's okay, it isn't reducing your stats or anything," Nepgear said with a smile, motioning Aksys forward.

Hesitantly, Aksys kept going towards the checkpoint. Just inside the gate, things seemed amiss in the near-perfect room of metal and neon. Bright lighting above shone down on creatures of steel and wiring, instead of the weary flesh soldiers that should've been compromising Leanbox's military. The machines stood rigidly, hunched over with jet-black wings behind them. Their bodies were made of ever-shifting plates of steel, black as night, with not a single piece of exoskeleton showing. Cords feeding vital electricity were covered in the same steel, and they gazed at us silently with heads contianing a single, piercing red eye.

Both Nepgear and Aksys were interested in the three security drones standing idly by in the checkpoint, for different reasons. Aksys was trying to figure out what it was and what it did, while Nepgear obsessed over every piece of machinery that made the drone work.

With a clear but rigid voice, the drone stated, "Please move away from me."

Nepgear and Aksys both obeyed once they felt a chill go down their spines.

"Something's off here. Where's the soldiers? Why are there machines here instead?" asked IF.

"I don't know, but I don't like it," I said firmly, selecting myself as the first to go through the checkpoint scanners.

"They don't seem like bad robots," Compa stated.

"Steel is steel, good or evil," I replied.

Stepping into the frame of steel lined with sensors, the moment I crossed through, I heard a loud ringing. Red alert was sounded with a single buzz from the gate. The once-green neon turning red and a metallic voice sounding over the loud speaker, "WARNING: Modded Weapon Detected."

The robots on the other side both shifted to apprehend me. I looked the nearest one dead in it's cold, unfeeling eye and said sharply, "You even think about touching my axe, and I'll rip out your optics!"

"Easy Code!" shouted IF.

They closed in on me and I brought out my axe with the intent of combat.

Nepgear stepped forward, heading through the gate abruptly while saying, "Code, just relax! I doubt they'll mess up your axe!"

The moment she stepped through the gate, the buzzer went off again, this time the warning sirens remaining on. The voice on the loudspeaker announced loudly, "WARNING: Enemy Faction Detected!"

Nepgear still tried to calm me, and I was backing further and further away from the drones. When IF shouted at something, I instinctively looked behind me to see Aksys fleeing into the city, wearing neither a look of fear, or a look of curiosity. Something had her interest, but none of us knew what. IF growled in concern and shot past the scanner, saying, "Follow me!"

She took off in a dead sprint into the city, no gates to bar the way. I had no hesitation in ripping apart machines, but I ran alongside Nepgear through the streets of Leanbox. The drones, converted into a slim, bomber-like form, still traced our steps with their piercing, red eyes. They were hot on our tail, trying to close in with IF taking every alleyway and shortcut she could quickly find. The persistant beasts wouldn't break their track on us. I switched Grindrix to Shredrix and took potshots at them, unable to do much. I didn't know where their vitals were, so I could only shoot randomly, downing one only long enough for another to show up.

We wandered through street after street, passers-by averting their eyes toward us as we shoved them aside. IF desperately searched for some kind of dark alleyway to hide in.

Aksys, at the last of the trail, shouted fiercely, "You guys go ahead, I'll keep them busy!"

She casted Heltic Nova before we could even object. The light radiated brilliantly behind us, our faces forward as we dashed through a darkened alleyway, seeking some kind of reprieve. I was out of breath, Compa was wearing down and falling behind, and IF still had no idea where to go. Aksys bought us enough time to hide deep in an alleyway next to a nightclub. Sparse daylight pouring in from the beginning of the alleyway, we could see the drones shoot down the street, oblivious to our hiding spot.

Nepgear and Compa gasped quietly for air while IF and I both wore faces of immediate concern. We knew we were deep in enemy territory with nowhere to go. I asked IF quietly, "Do you think the Guild would be any help right now?"

IF tapped furiously on her phone, occasionally holding it up to her ear. Her face twisted in frustration every time she was forced to face an empty dialtone. After stowing away her phone, she quietly growled, "No use, Guild's not responding to any of my messages."

Nearby footsteps from deeper in the alleyway made IF and I go on the defensive, weapons raised. Patiently waiting, with the footsteps growing louder by the second, IF and I could begin to make out something white approaching.

Ready to start swinging, IF and I were stopped by Compa shouting, "Wait guys! That's Cave!"

I questioned if Compa had some kind of speech problem, but when Nepgear's head perked up at the name, I could only assume that Cave was a name. I loosened the grip on my axe, but kept my eyes locked on the approaching figure. IF lowered her claws and said, "Finally, someone who can explain what the hell's going on."

Her full appearance revealed, the woman said with a stone-cold face, "I'm afraid explanations will wait until we are in a safe location. All of you should follow me, and do keep your voices down."

Any place would be better than hiding in an alleyway. I wasn't going to object following the mysterious woman hopefully to somewhere better.

Further into the damp darkness of the alleyway was a secret lever that Cave pulled, revealing a stairwell leading down. Negative vibes went through me just walking down there so willingly, but it couldn't be helped. Through the dry stairwell, there wasn't but a few dim lights to guide our step. IF complained every time I accidentally stepped on the back her leg, and Cave constantly assured us that we weren't far from the bottom.

Once we were at the bottom, we were met with a large room decorated with aged neon structures and semi-advanced computers, like a secret HQ from some old spy movie. A few people, decorated in red and white clothing, wandered about in the spacious room, checking computers and data screens frequently. Cave beckoned us towards the main computers, stating, "It's certainly a pleasure to see you all again. You came at an advantageous time."

Wearing her airy smile, Nepgear said, "It's nice to see you too Cave! Gosh, it's been so long."

Cave replied in an almost monotonous tone, "Indeed, it has. Much has happened since you last visited Leanbox."

"We saw. The drones and high security kinda gave it away," said IF.

Standing next to Nepgear, I asked her, "I assume by now that you three know her?"

"Of course!" cheered Nepgear, "Cave helped us a lot on our last journey."

"Oh, and who might you be?" Cave finally asked, her complacent, green eyes aimed at me.

"I am Code Oprashunal. A friend, and guardian of CPU Nepgear."

"Ah, that's correct. I faintly remember you. Lyrica has mentioned you before," said Cave, her voice raised a little higher as if she was happy in some weird sense. Her stonelike face didn't denote any change in emotion, so I could only speculate.

Upon hearing that name, my eyes lit up and I immediately asked, "Lyrica? Is she here? Can I go see her?"

"You aren't going anywhere 'til we get filled in on what's going on around here," IF said firmly.

I couldn't object, leaving me to say, "Alright, alright. That's fine."

Continuing, IF asked, "So what exactly happened? And for that matter, where are we?"

"This structure you're currently in is a former satellite communications relay station. It is also the headquarters for a revolution squad titled the Digital Reset. Allow me to explain what exactly happened," Cave stated, pulling up a news article on the large, CRT monitor behind her. With us nearing the screen, she continued, "Restrict took control after Chika went missing for a year on a peace mission to Lowee. She has debilitated the economy by confining all goods, people, and information to Leanbox alone. To further her confinement, she replaced the military with drones commanded by a sentient UAV dubbed 5URV3Y."

"Cave, don't you work for the military?" asked Compa.

"Correct. I was forced out at gunpoint after criticizing Restrict's decision to mechanize the military. Anyone that opposes her or questions her ways is either jailed or executed. I was lucky, merely my job was relinquished upon expulsion," Cave replied subtly. "Lyrica was forced into a similar issue."

Nepgear's face contorted into shock. She asked, "Does that mean her radio show's offline now? And is she no longer performing concerts?"

Cave grimly shook her head and said, "As of being blacklisted in Leanbox, we cannot openly reveal ourselves. Unless our data is erased from the Leanbox Servers, we will be hunted on sight. Lyrica cannot do concerts, instead recording songs to play once we have the means to."

"Is Lyrica alright? Has she been hurt at all?" I asked.

"You seem awful concerned about Miss 5pb. Are you a big fan or something?" asked Compa.

"I-I have my reasons..." I said quietly.

"Things really took a turn for the worst around here. Sounds like Restrict has the whole place on lockdown," IF stated.

Nepgear added grimly, "Which means if the other nations are dying, then Leanbox must be on life support."

"Unfortunately, I cannot deny your statement," said Cave.

"I'm sure there's more to this issue, but the first order of business for us now is to decide what to do," I said, arms crossed and facing my party with a hardened gaze.

"First order of business is to get our names cleared," said IF. "We're going to need it to get out of the city."

Immediately, I asked with an accusing stare, "I hope you don't intend on leaving once we get the chance. We sure as hell aren't leaving, current mission or not."

"I'm with Code on this. Getting the last Spark can wait until Leanbox has better means of supporting itself," said Nepgear.

With an affirming nod, Compa added, "Life support is bad, and as a nurse, I cannot leave a suffering nation on it!"

IF sighed, rested her hand on her head, and uttered softly, "I knew it wouldn't be as easy as leaving. I guess there's no other option."

"Getting our names off the blacklist is gonna be secondary, but for now we should try to find Aksys. The girl helped us, we need to at least make sure she's okay," I said.

Nepgear giggled and asked, "You almost sound worried about her."

"However annoying she may be, she's a party member. That doesn't change, whether we're with her or not," I firmly replied.

Cave seemed to alleviate her firm facial features just a little, saying with an almost happy voice, "It seems Lyrica wasn't lying when she claimed you to be protective."

Shying away a little, I softly said, "I wouldn't go that far. Anyways, how are we going to go about finding Aksys?"

Cave eagerly turned to face the computer screen. She typed rapidly on the aged keyboard, pulling up a strange menu of Digital Reset members. "One of our members has noted a weakness in surveillance feeds in some of the older servers linked to the Basilicom. It's likely we can locate Aksys from the footage. Once Lyrica has finished her recording session, we will attempt to hack into the surveillance footage."

I looked around the edges of the room, eagerly trying to find the way to the recording studio. It merely looked like random, obscure hallways out of a dungeon, but I assumed Cave knew exactly where each one went. I asked her yet again, "Where can I find Lyrica?"

"Yeah, I'm a bit interested in seeing 5pb again myself," added Nepgear, grouping up a little closer to me.

Cave got up from her chair, standing rigidly with a posture that'd flatter a soldier. Beckoning us, she said, "Follow me. Her recording studio is this way."

The walk was short, with everyone following behind the stern Cave. Walking down the dimly lit hallway, the only thing marking the path was a set of green neon bars riding the edges of the hallway. The place looked high-tech, but it lacked the real luster or refinement that the city upstairs showed.

"Now that I think about it, just what exactly are you going to do once Restrict is dethroned?" IF asked.

Cave, without missing a beat, said, "Appoint someone more suitable for the role as the Oracle until we can find Chika."

"Something tells me Chika never really left," I remarked.

"We've speculated that for some time now. We haven't any evidence, but it surely seems plausable," said Cave. Led to a room decorated in computers and speakerware, the only thing to signify it as the recording room was the 'On Air' sign that hung just above a blue door.

Waiting patiently, I could hear Lyrica's faint words being echoed into the room. It wasn't long before a young girl, clad in black and pink, waltzed out hesitantly, shutting the door behind her, unaware of our presence. Lyrica, turning around, wore a shocked expression and asked with a stuttering nervousness, "Wh-wh-when did you all get here?"

"Hello to you too," said IF.

"We happened to be passing by and thought we'd lend a hand," Nepgear added.

Then Lyrica turned her eyes toward me. I could see the beat of her heart measured in those hesitant eyes. The little lines in her eyes went up and down just as she once described to me. The stainless steel headphones, the little note tattoo on her chest, the rugged, punk-rocker clothing, it was all just as she described to me once before. It was my cousin, Lyrica.

"C-C-C-Code?! I-Is that really you?" she asked, stuttering like she was under a brutal cold spell.

I nodded firmly, smiling warmly to her. "It's been a long, long time."

"One of you two wanna explain the connection here?" asked IF, tapping her foot and crossing her arms.

Standing next to me, Lyrica said, "H-he's m-m-my cousin..."

And on cue, everyone, save for Cave, gaped their mouths and widened their eyes. There was an air of tension mixed with confusion wrapped around the musty breeze eminating from an age-old heater.

The first one to speak was IF. And just as I'd expected, she asked, "Why didn't you mention this before?"

"I didn't really see any need to bring it up," I said.

"I never would've guessed you were related!" chimed Nepgear.

Surprisingly, Compa was the first one to make a point. With a slender finger in the air, she said with a matter-of-factly tone, "It makes sense."

"How?" asked IF.

"Think about it Iffy. He's always singing to himself. And not a lot of people we know can carry a pitch quite like that."

Cave gave a smirk and added, "She's entirely right. I was there when Lyrica gave him lessons."

Smiling down to Lyrica, I said, "And she taught me well."

Lyrica blushed wildly, growing even more nervous. I gave her a soft pat on the head, leading her to look up at me with confusion.

"They also both talk to inanimate objects!" Compa added.

"P-Please d-don't talk about that!" said Lyrica.

"Oh yeah!" I chimed with a laugh, "I forgot you used to talk to your guitar. I heard you do it once when you left your mic on during a voice chat."

Lyrica moaned and shrunk.

Before the conversation could continue, Cave interrupted, saying, "Let's proceed to the lounge for the moment. I can have one of the Digital Reset generals begin preparing our observation of the surveillance network."

Nobody could argue, forming a disjointed line with Cave at the front, walking quietly through the quiet hallway. The only noise ahead was the faint whispers of the other Digital Reset members. The whirring of computer fans and keyboard strokes became louder as we entered the main room again.

Lyrica and I at the back of the group, I could see her walk with a little less hesitation, and a little more stride. When I saw her calm enough, I told her quietly, "I hope you know I've missed you."

The nervousness in her returned a little. She certainly was just as shy as I had remembered her to be. "I've...missed you as well..."

"Come on, no need to be so nervous around me," I playfully patted her head again, "We're family, right?"

She gave me an uneasy smile, but she looked like she had a little more willpower in her.

Walking past the main computer, I looked up to the old CRT monitors, watching the data compile and execute quietly, synchronized with the humble fan droning on nearby. The tension in the air made it difficult to relax. It felt like we were going to be found and killed at any moment. Being off the radar simply wasn't enough to settle me down. Of course, I would try to hide my discontent the best I could, despite the fact that I was eyeing Grindrix every second she was holstered on my back.

Cave stopped at the main computer, where a man in white and red clothes tapped away at a keyboard. Approaching him, Cave asked, "Monty, I require your assistance in readying relay 22-4B for infiltration. Please alert me once it has been prepared."

The man complied with a firm nod, going right back to his keyboard.

Trotting down another neon-laden hallway of aged steel, we scattered around in the lounge, taking up most of the couches and lounge chairs. Cave took the time to make us all tea, to which we happily obliged. I wasn't much for Darjeeling tea myself, but I drank it to help warm up with. I preferred green tea.

"So how long have you known each other?" asked Nepgear.

Wearing an indifferent expression, IF seemed more interested in talking about what was going on with Lyrica and the new government, but she let the conversation go anyways. I was glad she did. Just talking about the government's iron-grip tendancies made my blood pressure rise.

Lyrica, with a more open voice, said, "Code's parents did me a big favor in the past. I think he was six when we first talked."

"Seven actually," I interjected.

"Ah, yeah, that's right. You were seven then. Anyways, we talked for a few years after, but we sort of...stopped after he started participating in the Coliseum," Lyrica stopped with a saddened look. She aimed her somber gaze at me, asking me with a harsh stutter, "W-What ever happened t-to Rob and Joy?"

Thinking about it certainly brought somber tones. IF's expression darkened, but I wasn't about to rat her out and say that she killed my dad. "Perhaps it would be best not to-"

"Neither of them came back. I found them both dead in Aether." I interrupted. As much as I respected IF, I didn't want her choose when to talk about that.

"I'm so sorry..." Lyrica uttered quietly, dread wringing her voice dry.

"A damn shame. I missed them so much, and I know you missed them too. But, well, at least I still have you," I said, offering her the best smile I could. Nepgear and Compa both wore looks of shock, clearly uninitiated in the matter. I could only assume that IF didn't tell either of them.

"Code, I had no idea," said Nepgear.

I held a hand up before they could speak any furter, stating, "It's alright. Let's move on to other topics for now. No point in dwelling on things like that."

I looked over to IF and nodded toward her, IF going straight to asking Lyrica, "So how exactly did you get involved in Digital Reset?"

"I wasn't happy about Restrict's idea of monitoring every word that comes out of people. It's intrusive and uncalled for. Not to mention that Restrict often tried to bribe me into speaking good of her government. The drones were really disruptive to my concerts too," Lyrica said with a stern look, ruffled brow and all signalling her discontent.

Cave, much to Lyrica's frustration, continued from that. "Allow me to elaborate. During a live concert performance, one of the fans tried to record the event with his phone, resulting in the drones immediately executing the fan. Needless to say, the concert was finished after that. The man was also a member of the Digital Reset, and was the one responsible for concealing us from detection. Lyrica helped fund the man's funeral, and apologized to his family for the incident."

"Honorable and just. Now I see where Code gets it from," Nepgear said with a smile.

Lyrica blushed and shied a little. "P-please don't say such embarrassing things."

I chuckled and said, "I guess we are a bit alike."

The man from before waltzed in casually, interrupting our conversation. He said with a quiet, but alluring voice, "The relay has been prepared, however it is currently untraceable."

Cave's face quickly twisted to concern. Taking her leave with a prompt word of departure, the rest of the girls saw fit to pursue, Lyrica, Nepgear, and Compa all leaving the room expecting IF and I to not be far behind. I was nearing the door when IF stopped me. She said, "You know, you didn't have to cover for me."

"About?"

"About what happened with your father."

All I could do was ball up my fist in a bit of frustration. My voice, raised a little higher than I'd have liked, I said to her, "That wasn't your fault, and it isn't a burden for you to bear. You aren't to hold any guilt for that, understand?"

"Alright, alright. Geez..."

A little calmer, I attempted a half-baked smile in hopes to disarm her. Giving her a playful pat on the head, I said, "I don't mean to be an asshole about it. I say it because you're my friend. You are my friend, right?"

IF softly swatted my hand away from her head, blushing a little as she said, "R-right. Sorry."

"It's fine. Now, let's catch up with the others. See what all the commotion is about."

I could only hope that she took those words to heart. I didn't want her to be weighed down by any unneeded burdens. She had an airheaded nurse and a CPU with confidence issues to care for. That alone was rough for the poor girl. Walking into the main room, everyone was gathered around the main computer, eyes gazing at the luminous CRT screen.

"So what went wrong this time?" asked IF.

"I think our servers are incompatible with the Basilicom's," said Lyrica.

"So we can't use our computer here to find Aksys?" asked Compa.

Nepgear nodded and said, "From the looks of it, you'll need a proxy server."

I wasn't the most familiar with computer lingo, which made me a bit surprised at how much Nepgear knew, not to mention thankful. From the looks on Lyrica and Cave, they didn't know too awful much about it. Assuming was the best I could do at the moment, leading me to ask, "So, what, we just need to get to a computer already linked with the Basilicom's servers and control it remotely?"

"Pretty much," Nepgear confirmed.

Cave, still sitting at the computer desk, pulled up an article on a local LAN party occuring at a maid cafe not far from the base of operations. "There's a LAN party with possible connection points within. The computers there can connect solely with the Basilicom's dedicated server. You'd need to bring some equipment to link that computer with ours, but we have said equipment on standby for use."

IF speculated with her hand resting on her chin in interest. Thinking aloud, IF said, "It makes sense, but we'll need something disguise ourselves, if that will even work. We step foot on the street like this and we'll be slaughtered."

"I might know where to get some disguises," Lyrica stated with a smile.

({+|-^-|o})

The metal bars slammed shut with a thunderous, metallic thud. A guard, clad in steel platemail, twisted the key still left in the rusty lock, sealing Overkill and Headshot in a small jail cell with only a straw bed and a table made of damp rocks. Their weapons were confiscated, leaving both of them to feel naked and defenseless.

"Man, of all places. We were only a short walk from the damn checkpoint!" shouted Headshot. He turned his gaze toward Overkill and said, "All because _you_ thought it would be funny to shoot the chicken!"

"1 d1dn7 7h1nk 73h 6u4rd w0uld 637 50 p1553d 4b0u7 17!11!1!" Overkill shot back in his defense.

Headshot gave a groan and sat down on the hard, rock chair that came with the jail cell. "Dammit all, what kind of crappy freakin' clan gets jailed up. We don't even have the money to pay our way out."

The beggar man in tattered clothes next cell over shouted at them to shut up, which only aggravated Headshot even more. Spewing curses that hadn't even been invented yet, Headshot unleashed his full fury on the man, only getting a quiet apology in response. That didn't stop Headshot from continuing his cursing spree, at least, up until the guard commanded him to be quiet.

About an hour later, the guard that jailed them up returned, telling them with a grim tone, "The judge wishes to see you now."

He unlocked the door and slid open the steel gate with an aged grinding noise. The guard stepped aside, letting the two troublemakers walk their walk of shame for all the other prisoners to see. Two guards near the door to the courtroom opened the door for them, smirking all the while doing it. The court was full of people, some on jury, some just watching. Then there was the big man himself, clad in just a simple black robe, donning an oak hammer of silence.

"Approach the stand," commanded the judge, silencing all the rambling people around him.

Headshot and Overkill both stood slouched on the stands, casting uncaring glances to the smirking townsfolk centered in the stands.

"You both stand trial today for the heartless murder of an innocent chicken. As declared before, neither of you have the money to pay your fees. Is this true?"

The both of them said together in a sullen voice, "Yes."

"Then you have a choice in your punishment. You may either wait your weeklong sentence, or you can participate in something more traditional."

Headshot grimaced, asking, "And what would that be?"

"The one who shot the chicken must don the town's sacred chicken suit and march a full circle around the town. Only the one that commited the crime must do so. We only have one suit."

Overkill instinctively pointed a sharp finger at Headshot and practically shouted, "h3 d1d 17!11! h3 5h07 7h3 ch1ck3n!"

"Oh, you little bastard..." whispered Headshot.

The judge banged his hammer twice and declared firmly, "Then we shall commence the punishment at once."

"m4y 1 74k3 p1c7ur35?"

The judge nodded his head at Overkill's request.

As Headshot was being escorted to the back room for fitting, he said to Overkill, "I get done with this and your ass is mine!"

Overkill plucked his spikey phone from a hidden pouch in his armor. Ignoring the hundreds of missed calls, he pulled up the camera on it, ready to photograph what will eventually become Headshot's most embarrassing moment ever. "1 d0n7 c4r3 1f w3 d0n7 m4k3 17 70 l34nb0x...n07h1n6 54y5 v1r4l l1k3 4 dud3 1n 4 ch1ck3n 5u1t!"

({+|-^-|o})

"Okay, so let me get this straight. You can't give me one of the Digital Reset uniform because I'd be spotted and killed. You can't buy me a different disguise because the LAN party would be over before we got it. And I have to go because I'm the only one strong enough to move the equipment," IF asked, Lyrica helping her fit into her new outfit.

Cave sat idly by in her computer chair, unneeded until the actual hacking process began. She said with a warm gaze examining the fitting process, "That is correct."

Nepgear, donning her maid outfit proudly, came over to me and asked, "How do I look?"

"Good, as expected Miss Nepgear," I replied, trying to keep my creeper smile from showing up. Last thing I wanted was for her, or anyone else around, to get the wrong idea. Looking over to Compa, she tilted her head to the side. I gave her a thumbs up and she flashed a cutesy smile. It was difficult to tell the three apart, seeing that they had wigs on.

Seeing it fit, Cave said, "As far as we have gathered, the drones all have a facial recognition scanner. However, this scanner is faulty-"

"Hey, just like everything else that's usually shipped out of Leanbox," IF remarked under her breath.

Cave, silenced for the brief moment IF mumbled to herself, continued, "It is faulty in that hair match-ups are included with the facial recognition. With the proper disguise, you should be able to get in undetected."

Done fitting IF, the last of the trio, Lyrica asked Cave and I, "Did I miss anything?"

"It appears that all is in order," Cave replied.

"I think you got it all," I said. Taking a look at the three lined up together, Nepgear radiant with nervousness, Compa wearing her aloof gaze, and IF practically pouting like a child being disciplined, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself. "A shy girl, a ditzy airhead, and a sarcastic tsundere. You three could practically run the cafe by yourselves."

Nepgear and Compa both smiled, but IF gave something different altogether, choosing to shout, "You better watch yourself, or you'll be the next one wearing this...thing!"

"Easy slugger, save some for the nerds at the cafe. They'll eat that tsundere talk right up," I said, smiling but also anticipating getting decked. I tried to secretely take a step back just in case she did decide to slug me.

"Now Cody, don't tease her too much," said Compa.

Lyrica, standing closer to IF, said with a slight blush, "I-I think it looks good on y-you..."

Giving a loud sigh, IF groaned to herself. "It's not my main choice of apparel, but at least we won't be there too long."

The man that often approached Cave before still stood firmly next to her, not saying a word. Cave, exchanging brief words with him, turned over to us and said, "Our best assassin, Monty, will escort you up and await at the entrance for your return. Do take care."

Taking a firm stride to the entrance, Monty waited patiently, clad in a hood that concealed most of his face. His rigid posture and reticent personality made me question who's side he was really on. It didn't help that he seemed like a cookie-cutter cardboard reference to something rather than a person, but I couldn't be too judgemental. After all, we had only met him but a few hours ago.

"We'll be back soon," said Nepgear, taking the lead and walking to the entrance. Monty took over from there, leading them up the darkened stairwell leading to the surface.

When I heard the door close, I asked Cave and Lyrica, "Why didn't you two go as well?"

Lyrica, her cheeks still holding a faint red color, said, "I-I couldn't go out looking l-like that! That's just way too embarassing, I don't like being around a bunch of people anyways..."

"Ah, I forgot you didn't like social contact," I uttered. Sending my gaze toward Cave, I asked, "And you?"

"I couldn't possibly wear something like that. It's too contradictory to my proper appearance," Cave said, turning around in her computer chair to focus on the computer screens.

"Self-conscious much?" I remarked silently to myself. Seeing that the girls were gone and wouldn't be around to witness it, I took the pile of their original clothes with the intent to clean them. "Cave, would there happen to be a laundry room anywhere around here?"

"Yes, there is. Lyrica, would you please show him to it?"

Lyrica nodded, but before taking me to the room, she plucked a few garments from my stack. Carrying them with her limp hands, she walked me back to the washroom, asking, "Would you mind if I helped?"

"Feel free."

The washroom she led me to small, but it had what we needed to wash the clothes. She stood next to the slightly rusty washing machine, sticking IF's clothes in first. I placed the clothes I was holding on the dryer for the moment, sorting out the whites. Glancing over to Lyrica, I saw her get ready to put Compa's dress in the washer.

"Ah, no, no," I quickly interrupted her before she could put it in. "Don't put that in the washer. That's wool, we'll need to wash that differently."

"S-sorry. I didn't know," said Lyrica.

I told her calmly, "It's alright. I made the same mistake with my old blanket."

A few minutes passed of us getting the clothes in the washing machine. Standing by the machines, the washer making a loud swishing noise of rushing water that pierced the silence between us. Lyrica, speaking up over the machines, asked, "Hey, Code?"

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't you tell me you were on this big journey with Nepgear?"

I gave a subtle shrug and said, "I guess I felt like you probably had other things to worry about. Figured you probably didn't have the time to help."

Her face grew a lot more firm and her eyes began pulsing with emotion again. It was rare that I saw her get so tensed up. Lyrica's voice became stern, saying, "You said yourself that we're family, right? Family helps family. If you think I wouldn't help you, you're wrong."

A bit stunned by her words, I looked down in defeat. Thinking about it, I should've at least tried to contact her. To say that 'things were too hectic' would just be a cop-out, and though communications may have been limited in Leanbox, it still would've been better to try to contact her than just forgetting she existed while I ventured around with someone she knew so well like Nepgear. I started to feel bad not talking to her past that last message.

The tension in her lowered, her face returning to that soft, sheepish smile again. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't ever worry about you."

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about you," I returned.

She still blushed hearing that, but she at least smiled following it. "I know I didn't say it earlier, b-but it's really great to see you again."

"I could say the same. I'm just really glad to see you're safe."

Instead of blushing like normal, she smiled to me.

"So, do you mind me asking something?"

"What?"

"Are you guys really going up against the government?"

Lyrica sighed a deep sigh. I knew I struck a chord somewhere in asking that. She said, "I don't like the idea, but we cannot live like this. We need Chika back. As scary as she was, she at least listened to us. We just haven't had the manpower or the skills to do much. The most we could do was make the Digital Reset as a safe haven for people that didn't agree with the government."

I figured as much. Lyrica didn't seem the type to just stand out against something as big as that. She barely was able to speak to Chika as it was.

There was a slight glimmer of hope in her eyes, saying with a little more firmness, "But with you guys here, I think we can finally set this right."

"I really hope so," I replied. Looking down at my cousin, I told her, "I'll be giving it my all. It'll take a few steps, but let's hope we can end this soon."

({+|-^-|o})

The girls stood before the doors to the maid cafe, donned in their rather conspicuous outfits. A black drone, painted like a sleek bomber with machinery hissing and shifting quickly, stood at the door making no movement until the girls were front and center.

"Halt. Performing identity scan." stated the machine with a low, monotonous voice synthesized from a computer.

Standing before him was Nepgear first, standing perfectly still with a sweat bead traveling down her pale cheeks. She'd whisper to herself quietly, "Please don't set off the alarm, please don't set off the alarm..."

The drone stared at her with its single red eye, sweeping Nepgear's body with a red beam. Shivers went down Nepgear's spine, tension keeping her silent until it was finished. The drone buzzed loudly for a brief second, making Nepgear jump and almost spring into attack. She stopped her impulses once the drone monotonously claimed, "All clear. Please proceed."

Nepgear nodded over her shoulder at the others, going inside quietly with a formal posture that she struggled to maintain. Inside was the sound of rapid keystrokes, overwatched by four metallic, unwavering drones positioned in the corners of the cafe. Waiting inside patiently, she looked out of the nearby windows at the others. Compa looked as nervous as she had expected to be, holding her hands out in front of her with a neutral expression. Getting the okay from the drone, she quickly fled into the cafe.

Being the last, IF had to set down her equipment. In her mind, IF anticipated the drone throwing the alarm over the extra equipment. Assorted metal and plastic hardware aside, IF stood before the drone with a strict stature, as if trying to impress a commanding officer. The drone scanned her the same as it did with the others, sweeping its deathly red gaze over her quickly. Nepgear and Compa both held their breath, looking down at the equipment that the drone promptly swept over.

With blackened hands outstretched, the drone reached for the equipment without warning. IF, unable to do anything other than watch with her eyes, refrained from any impulses. Compa and Nepgear both continued to hold their breath, the both of them grimacing. To IF's surprise, the drone picked up the heavy equipment and said with its synthetic voice, "Please open the door. I will assist in carrying these items."

IF let out a big sigh, then walked over to the door to hold it open for the machine. Nepgear and Compa both went to a door marked with 'Personnel Only', holding the door open again for the machine. The other drones in the room didn't budge an inch in response or curiosity. Some of the other maids inside gazed towards the newcomers, bewildered, but retaining their focus on their job.

The drone walked up the stairs to the server room and dropped the items gently inside, Compa and the others already inside where an empty computer rested in sleep mode. Holding the door open for the drone, Compa said cheerily, "Thank you Mr. Robot!"

When the drone had left without a word said, Compa shut and locked the door before returning to the others. IF helped Nepgear set up the hacking equipment, linking it to the server room's primary computer. Taking a seat in the cold computer chair, Nepgear said, "It'll take a few minutes, but as far as I know, I'll have to use the upload engine to-"

"Don't worry about explaining it, just work on it," IF interjected.

Nepgear nodded, stopping herself. "Right."

IF and Compa both could see the rest of the room from the window. Being at a raised room, they could look down and view the maids running around the computers, depositing trays of food for the hungry gamers.

"We really need to get rid of those drones, they make me paranoid just looking at them," said IF.

Nepgear, mumbled something to herself, leading to Compa asking, "What is it Ge-Ge?"

Frantically clicking on the mouse, Nepgear said, "This file...I have no idea where it could've come from. And there's a weird executable in here too. I think I'll just delete the executable, it's in the way anyways."

Still watching down below, IF saw one of the nerds at a computer earn a disturbed look.

"There we go, it's in the trash bin now," said Nepgear.

Another gamer in the room immediately pointed to the nerd IF was looking at and shouted, "Hacks!"

"Wrong move Gear," said IF.

The drone closest to the alleged hacker threw a grey computer monitor at the mistaken nerd, effectively rendering the kid unconscious. IF winced and uttered, "You _know_ that had to hurt."

"Is he...dead?" asked Compa.

Confused, Nepgear thought aloud, "Goodness, what happened? Maybe I should restore that executable..."

Looking closely, IF could spot shallow breathing and a tint of red on the 'hacker'. "Nope, he ain't dead, but he's sure gonna wish he was when he wakes up."

The more Nepgear tried to tap into the Basilicom's servers, the more confused she got. Between clicking on unfamiliar files and tapping away solutions on the keyboard, she started to grow tired. A clicking noise came from the door down the staircase, IF unaware of who was coming up. Quickly rushing down the stairs, IF prepared herself for whoever, or whatever was coming in.

When the door softly opened, one of the maids popped her head in. IF quickly brought the maid into the room, shutting the door and whispering to the maid quickly, "Don't say a word about this. We know what we're doing. Just trust us."

The maid wore a look of confusion hidden behind her brown bangs. Tilting her innocent head to the side, her shield of brown hair behind her shifting as well, she said, "I was just wondering if you wanted anything to eat or drink."

"Oh. We're fine for now...uh..."

"Mikuru."

"Right. We're fine for now Mikuru. We'll let you know if we need anything. And yeah, don't mention this."

Mikuru flashed a casual peace sign, saying upon her departure, "M'kay!"

The maid quickly left the room, the door locking behind her. IF went back up to see Nepgear wearing a heavily confused look. Before Nepgear even had time to explain, IF said, "Please think about what you're about to do before you do it."

Sighing deeply, Nepgear looked around an odd folder filled with obscure file names. Her confusion was starting to transfer to outright frustration. She would often tell herself to keep calm and level-headed, but mentioned possibly contacting Cave or 5pb to see if they could help. IF duly advised against it, stating that the drones would pick up on their communications in a split second. Out of options, Nepgear opted to boot up an executable that she could only assume was what she was looking for.

"We're connected!" cheered Nepgear.

"Good, now lets get out of here. I'm tired of wearing this stupid thing," said IF, gazing down again at the maid outfit she resented with a bitter passion.

Nepgear nodded and Compa cheerily followed, all of them grouped by the door leading out. IF, opening the door, was greeted by the sight of the drones all looking at them. The moment they tried to near the doorway, the drones guarding the way out said in rigid voices, "Insufficient hours worked."

"Hey, ma'am, I need something from the menu," said one of the gamers, looking towards Nepgear and tugging on her dress slightly.

Blushing a little, Nepgear uttered, "O-oh, we-well I suppose I could-"

"Yeah, you with the sour look, I could use some refreshing over here!" shouted a nerd toward IF.

Compa giggled and said, "Looks like duty calls!"

({+|-^-|o})

Already I had washed the clothes, helped some of the Digital Reset members make lunch, assisted in rewiring a computer system, and all before the girls were back yet. I worried about them, mainly because I didn't know how the drones would really react to them. They had been gone for around an hour and a half.

Standing next to Cave, I asked her, "Are there any tasks you can assign me for the Digital Reset?"

"Your class structure and fighting demeanor likely wouldn't support the stealth-based tasks our assassins are trained for. No offense, of course," said Cave.

"None taken. I know my strengths and weaknesses."

In all reality, I expected such a response from Cave. Granted, her stern expression didn't help alleviate the impact of her words, but I knew she meant well. "Now that I think about it, I've only seen three other Digital Reset members in the headquarters, not counting Monty and Lyrica. Are the other members on missions?"

"These are all the members."

My eyes widened hearing that. I was expecting a much larger syndicate than three members. "Geez, not much of a revolutionary force then."

"You seem to forget that our ability to openly recruit is very limited right now. We can scarcely show our faces outside of the headquarters, let alone recruit members."

"Fair enough," I replied. Still, I figured there would be more of a force gathered. "What about the rest of the members of the Leanbox military?"

"The other members have since refused to get involved."

The more I questioned the state of the Digital Reset, the more I didn't want to hear. Five people alone won't stop a militaristic government. The only hope they had to overthrow Restrict was for Nepgear and the others to intervene. I had no qualms with taking down a corrupt government, but we'd need to plan our moves carefully.

"You're worried about the others, correct?" Cave said abruptly.

"That obvious?"

Cave nodded. "Your tension gave it away. It's not hard to spot."

I wasn't surprised at her figuring out as much as I was surprised she didn't mention it sooner. I gave a pent up sigh and said, "To be honest, I want to go out there myself right now, but I know what will happen. Bothers me too much to sit still though."

"At this point, I would think it wise to go see Lyrica once more. She hasn't stopped talking about you since you arrived," Cave offered earnest words with an alleviated expression.

She didn't seem to need me for anything, but I couldn't tell what her real intent was. She buried what was on her mind well with that stone-cold expression she carried. I started a walk down the hallway leading to the washroom. The bedrooms were deep in the hallway past that. Walking down that way, I looked at a doorway secured by yellow tape that seemed burned and broken. Odd as it seemed, I continued down my path toward Lyrica's room. I could hear her faint voice from beyond the door I stood before, but I wasn't about to stoop to petty eavesdropping. Chances were, she was just talking to her guitar again.

I knocked on the door, asking, "Lyrica?"

With a panicked stutter, Lyrica shouted beyond the door, "C-Code? Come in."

"Yup, she was probably talking to her guitar," I thought to myself, twisting the cold doorknob and pushing the door open. To my surprise, she was sitting on her floor cushion, doing something on her laptop.

"What is it?" asked Lyrica.

I closed the door behind me, saying as I sat down next to her, "Nothing, just thought I'd come visit you."

"Oh," she smiled, "well okay. Actually, do you know anything about computers?"

I peered over to look at what was on the laptop screen. "A little. Why?"

"I found a bunch of weird files on my computer. They look like files I can use, but my computer wont do anything with them. I-I'm really worried it's a virus..."

Lyrica brought up a folder filled with strange files. Scooting her floor desk closer to me, I used her track pad to peruse the contents. "EXEC_SPHILIA, EXEC_FLIP_ARPHAGE, EXEC .overMETHOD_SUBLIMATION? Where in the hell did you get these from?"

"I-I don't know! They were in there after I had Cave scan my computer with her main computer in the lobby!" Lyrica sharply replied, wearing her usual nervous expression.

The most I knew how to do was to try and boot them from the command line interface, to no avail. The computer could only identify them as files, but nothing I tried would get them to display their contents. Still trying to execute them, I asked my cousin, "Did you ask Cave about it?"

She shook her head.

"Well," I whispered, picking up the laptop and bringing it with me to the door, "guess we're paying Cave a visit."

Judging from Lyrica's unfinished stutters, she intended to stop me, but ended up following me out to the lobby where Cave appeared to be working on the main computer. Upon nearing it, I saw where she was actually looking up crepe stores nearby. With a raised brow, I asked her, "Hungry? Or just browsing?"

"I was surely not looking for provisions!" Cave hastily replied. "I was looking for access points for hacking is all."

"At a crepe shop? I'm still not convinced," I replied.

Her facial feature twisted ever so slightly enough for me to tell that she was shocked. "I'm appalled! I surely wouldn't be doing something so embarrassing. Perhaps you have me mistaken for someone else, perhaps Lyrica?"

"M-m-me? No, I'm n-not cute..." Lyrica blushed, the look of confusion and anxiety mixing in with her pulsating eyes.

Giving Lyrica a bittersweet smile, I said, "You're cute whether you want to admit it or not."

"Quit ganging up on me..." Lyrica said with a pout.

As much as it amused me to watch my cousin grow embarrassed, the laptop I still held in my hands still existed and still continued to heat up the side of my wrist. Interjecting, I asked, "So, Lyrica's found some weird files thanks to something your main computer did. Any idea what the hell these files are and why I can't run them?"

Cave took the computer from me, looking through the folder just as I had, reading off the strange names without a single hint as to whether she was confused or not. "EXEC_METAFALICA? I feel like I've heard that name before somewhere."

"Do tell where, we aren't gonna advance the plot on wild guesses," I remarked.

"Sadly, I cannot remember at the moment."

I rolled my eyes and whispered to myself, "Figures."

"Can you at least run them on the computer?" asked Lyrica.

Cave immediately turned to the computer and grabbed the head of an extendable cable wired into the computer's console. Plugging in the copper USB cord into the computer, Cave retrieved the weird files with a rapid set of clicks. She tried several methods in executing the file, but nothing worked. "This is most bizarre."

"The only thing I can think of is to have Nepgear take a look at it. I've got no clues myself," I said. The sound of footsteps behind me tore my attention from the screen. "And speak of the devil."

Monty had returned from the surface, with the girls behind them. Their maid outfits were stained in several spots and Compa's looked a little torn. IF didn't even bring back the equipment.

"What happened to you three?" I asked.

"The drones wouldn't let us out until we worked our 'shifts'," said Nepgear.

"Certainly looks like you worked your shifts," commented Lyrica.

IF, wiping some kind of sauce from her hand, said, "That and then some. Where are our regular clothes? I wanna change out of this thing already."

"Lyrica washed your clothes, they're in the washroom," I directed, giving Lyrica a small smile. I didn't mind letting her have the credit for cleaning their clothes. Plus, if IF figured out that I was touching her clothes, I had the feeling she'd gut me alive.

IF and Compa both left, but Nepgear stayed behind, asking, "Has everything been alright here while we've been gone?"

"All's well, other than the three of us having difficulties with some weird files on her computer."

Nepgear tilted her head to the side and began walking to the main computer where Cave was at, asking, "What's going on?"

Lyrica pointed to her computer, retelling the story of what happened, Nepgear promptly investigating once Cave handed over the laptop. The look of confusion on Nepgear's strained face didn't bode well. "Goodness, I've never even heard of these names before. EXEC_RE=NATION? METHOD_HYMMELI? I kinda would think these would be executable files, but there's nothing to execute it with!"

"Congratulations, you just summed up every problem we've been having for the past half an hour," I thought to myself. Speaking aloud, I questioned, "Can you at least quarantine them for now? Just in case they cause problems later." My voice reduced to a softer voice with a hint of embarrassment, I added, "I kinda wanna see if Aksys is alright. You did get the computer to work as a proxy, right?"

Nepgear nodded, her head still lowered and her eyes still focused on Lyrica's laptop. "Here you go, they should be in a safe spot now," Nepgear stated, handing the laptop back to Lyrica. Cave moved aside to let Nepgear sit at the main computer. "Now we can check the surveillance footage and track where Aksys was taken."

The connection to the Basilicom servers was a little buggy. Nepgear had to perform a reboot just to get it to work, but she got in. Uncertainty was stretched across her face, her focused eyes reading data that flowed in every direction. IF and Compa returned in their normal clothes, both looking refreshed.

"Is Ge-Ge looking for Aksys now?" asked Compa.

"Surely seems that way," said IF.

Some might've considered it a miracle that Nepgear finally found where surveillance footage was stored. The records were expansive to say the least, but Nepgear relocated the one that occured earlier in the day. Playing the footage, everyone remained silent. Some of the Digital Reset members even stopped to watch, including Monty. The HD full-color recording started shortly after Aksys used Heltic Nova, showing her epic struggle against the drones. To our surprise, the girl managed to take down six drones before another twelve finally subdued her.

My eyes a little widened, I commented, "Damn, that girl has some strength."

Nepgear began to fast-forwarded the footage, nearing where the drones took her away. Just as the footage was about to reveal the name of the facility Aksys was in, the recording stopped fast-forwarding, displaying 'Buffering' across the screen. Everyone groaned, and the Digital Reset members dispersed, no longer interested.

"Seems you have a real bruiser on your team," commented Cave.

"She's definitely a tank, no doubt about that," replied IF.

Compa raised a brow and asked, "I thought Cody was the tank?"

Wearing the same look of confusion, I asked the two of them, "I thought Nepgear was the tank?"

IF facepalmed and groaned loudly, "All this time of traveling, and we don't even know who the tank is."

A few seconds later, Compa asked, "So who is the tank?"

"I think Code's the tank. I have better defenses, but Code's a lot stronger than me," Nepgear stated, still waiting for the footage to buffer. Innocently shrugging, I accepted my fate as a tank. It suited me well.

The recording finally finished buffering, revealing to us where Aksys had been deposited. Our suspicions were confirmed, Aksys was being held at the Leanbox Military Prison. For the past hour she'd been slumped down against the wall, getting up shortly after and looking at the gate, promptly electrocuting herself on the gates made of electric bolts of energy. She got back up after a couple muscle spasms. We were only able to fast forward to two hours after our arrival, but it was enough for us to see that she was alive and well, if not a little crispy.

I looked down to IF and said, "We know where she is. Now we go get her out."

"It would be best not to make any hasty moves," said Cave.

IF nodded and followed up, saying, "Let's not do anything stupid. Look at her, she doesn't appear completely helpless in there. We should give it some time and see what becomes of this."

I didn't even want to entertain the thought of leaving the poor girl in a jail cell. But I respected IF enough to stand down. All I could say was, "You'd better be making a good call on this."

"We are. Trust us," said IF, turning her attention from me to Nepgear. "Now, how about giving us a clean slate here in Leanbox."

"Already done," chirped Nepgear happily.

"So does that mean the robots will treat us like regular people now?" asked Compa.

"Yes," said IF, "but we need to avoid making any shifty moves. Last thing we need to do is put our name back on that list."

Looking back to Cave, I asked her, "What now?"

"I think we should look for Chika next," said Lyrica.

As much as I wanted to agree, we couldn't exactly confirm that she was still pent up somewhere in Leanbox. For all we knew, she was still in Castlescape, or even somewhere else like Ruination or Trickstar. At the moment, I said, "Maybe we can check the surveillance footage? Chances are, they had to have recorded her final moments."

Nepgear instinctively begane looking through the files. She had to question Cave when the last date it was that she was seen, to which she recalled perfectly. Just as I had suspected, all footage from that date was erased completely.

"Well, looks like they covered their tracks," said IF. "And it would take days to search through all the footage from that time period just to see if Chika showed up in any of them."

A few moments of pure thinking took place before I came up with a decent idea. It wasn't the best, and I was sure that Nepgear was getting tired of hacking, otherwise I would ask her to try and hack into the drones. "Perhaps we can bug the Basilicom?"

Compa's airheaded flag triggered right on cue. "Cody, bothering the mean lady in the Basilicom won't get us any closer to finding Chika."

"Wrong bug Compa," said IF.

Cave applauded my idea, but said in response to it, "Question is, where would we get the equipment for it?"

"I think I might have something we can use, but it's in my old studio," said Lyrica.

I chuckled and said, "Guess we're testing out Nepgear's hacking job. Hope it worked, otherwise we're gonna be coming back screaming."

"I would recommend waiting until tomorrow to venture there. A curfew is currently in effect," said Cave.

That ruled out wandering the city to test Nepgear's hacking job. I didn't have any complaints, but I questioned if there was any place to sleep at in the HQ. Before anyone had the time to speak, a stomach growled amongst the girls, for I knew it wasn't mine. Another stomach growled in response to that, followed by another. "Guess it's time for dinner," I remarked.

"I'll help make something," said Nepgear.

I pointed to the stained outfit she still wore and said, "You might wanna change first. I doubt you're comfortable in that thing."

Nepgear gave a sheepish smile and got up from her computer chair, directed by Lyrica as to where to get her usual clothes. The rest of us made haste for the nearby kitchen.

"Would you mind if I cooked?" asked Compa. Cave was quick to comply, but even quicker to lend a helping hand. Compa declined though, Cave coming to sit with the rest of us at the steel dining table that was just large enough to accommodate our party.

Unable to butt my way into cooking, I sat quietly at the table across from IF. Two of the other Digital Reset members passed by, and I had offered to include them in the meal, but they declined for unknown reasons. It was no big deal for me, more food for us.

I noticed IF not playing on her phone, which prompted me to ask, "Not on your phone today?"

"We'd get picked up by the drones if I had them on. Don't want to draw any attention to us while we're here," IF replied. If one looked close enough, one could see a jittery impulse in her hand, temptation calling for her to abuse her cell phone like she always did. It was funny for me, but torture for her.

"Now that I think about, seeing that you check your phone so often, how are shares right now?" I asked.

"Lowee is at the top right now, followed by Leanbox, and then a tie between Planeptune and Lastation."

I widened my eyes a little. My guesses were way off from that. "Damn, Lowee's taking the lead? That's kinda surprising."

IF didn't think much of it. "Ram and Rom are childish, but they're far from stupid."

"Young minds are often the most creative!" added Compa from the kitchen.

I couldn't deny the effect that youth had on the mind. I certain waned from my own creative tendancies. Not to say I wasn't capable of the occasional idea here and there, but I knew when my prime was. "Is Lastation and Planeptune at least out of the danger zone?"

"From what I've gathered, seems so. Uni's been cracking down on their nation's attitude quite a bit, and Histoire's been keeping up with Planeptune's competitive streak pretty well."

"I imagine Leanbox would be tied with Lowee right now if Chika ruled," Cave remarked.

"Taken she could control the competition," remarked IF. It was hard to tell if she was trying to make a witty joke or if she was being serious.

As much as I didn't want to say it, I said, "I'd rather see competition than submission."

IF raised a brow, asking, "Really? You seemed pretty adamant about seeing an end to competition."

"I hate competition, but I hate seeing a confined nation even more. This isn't a way to live, under watch every second," I said firmly, "That's half the reason why I respect Miss Nepgear so much. She did everything a proper ruler should, from the paperwork to the chores, she did everything. It was the people's fault for bringing down the nation. But she just kept going, despite all of that. She kept being a paragon amongst rulers."

IF just stared blankly at me for a couple seconds. It was unsettling to say the least, making me feel like maybe I accidentally insulted Nepgear. Regardless if I did or not, that was how I truly felt. Finally, she broke her silence to tell me, "Couldn't have said it better myself. Well, I could've, but I'll spare you for now."

I gave her a timid smile before dropping the subject. I was a little more calm knowing that the nations weren't in danger. That wouldn't stop me from trying my hardest to help get things put right, but I could feel a little less guilty spending time 'screwing around'.

Waiting patiently for the food, I hummed a song to myself, leaning back casually in the chair with my arms folded up behind my head. Without realizing it, I started singing along softly, "...it's now or never, we shall stand together...one by one, this world is sacred..."

IF shook her head at me with a disarming grin.

"I remember that song," said an approaching Lyrica. I hadn't even noticed that she had arrived with Nepgear.

"It was one of the first you taught me," I replied.

Nepgear, now changed into her clean clothes, sat down next to me, Lyrica sitting across from her. Nepgear turned her gaze to me and said, "I've been wondering for a while. I always hear you singing to yourself, but what kind of music do you listen to?"

Smirking to her, I flashed the devil horns and said, "Metal and rock. I'll listen to other stuff too, but not often."

Nepgear faced IF next. Before she could even ask anything, IF said, "I don't listen to a lot of music, same with Compa. If I listen to anything," IF pointed a finger at me, "it's the same stuff he listens to."

"I listen to pop. I think Cave listens to FM synthesis music," said Lyrica, looking over to Cave to see her nod.

Judging from the distance Compa was from the dining table, she likely didn't hear our conversation. The smell that radiated from the kitchen wafted through the soft warm breeze, signalling that supper was almost ready. I could hear the occasional stomach growl from around, and I was starting to get a little hungry myself.

"What about you, Nepgear?" Lyrica asked. "What do you listen to?"

"Nothing much, mainly chiptune and video game soundtracks."

The conversation was interrupted by Compa approaching with plates of food for herself. She declared cheerfully, "Food's ready, go up and get some!"

IF was the first to flee to the kitchen counter where the food was sprawled out. There wasn't anything fancy, but it was easy for IF to tell it was Compa's cooking. Taking a brief ten seconds to grab as much of Compa's cooking as she could, she came back to the table, itching to start eating. She kept control of herself, not eating 'til the others got their food.

I bid Nepgear and Lyrica to go get their food next, but they refused, telling me to go get food first. I didn't like eating in front of others, but I knew how stubborn Nepgear could be. Getting up from the warm chair, my head spun around a little. The smell going through the air coupled with me sitting for too long made me dizzy upon standing up. Trodging forward, I tried to avoid waltzing into anything.

"Hmm, well what have we here?" I whispered to myself. "Looks like Compa also made pork chops. Don't mind if I do..."

I scooped up a couple pork chops, leaving plenty for the others. After getting some peas and something to drink, I sat down at the small dining table, cueing Nepgear and Lyrica to go get some food. My mouth watered at the sight of the pork chops, and my stomach began to beg me to start eating. It felt like it took ten minutes for the other two to get their food, but they arrived back at the table, where we all thanked Compa for the food before digging in. Quickly raising a pork chop to my mouth, I took a big bite.

And that one bite made my mouth pucker in ways I never thought possible. Not wanting to insult Compa's cooking, I forced my numb tongue to help me swallow the sour food, which was more than what could be said for the others.

IF barely even chewed hers, but once she got it down, the first thing she said was, "That was way too sour for regular pork chops! What the hell did you put in there?"

"She's trying to expiriment on us again!" I commented loudly, struggling to use my tongue to speak.

Compa, who sat next to me, gave me a firm thump on the head. "Cody! How many times do I have to tell you, I don't expiriment on friends!"

The only one who was able to keep a straight face was Cave. With full control of her stone-cold face and sharp tongue, she asked, "What did you attempt to put in for the recipe?"

"Lemon pepper extract. It's what I always use."

IF was the first to walk over to the kitchen to see exactly what Compa did to make the pork chops come out so sour. If picked up random bottles until she found the alleged lemon pepper extract. "This isn't lemon pepper extract, this is _lemon_ extract!"

Once I had the nasty taste out of my mouth, I walked over to the kitchen and turned the burners back on for the stove. I wasn't a master chef, but I knew one trick to get rid of the sour taste. Quickly preparing a small pot with a little salty water, I let some of the extra pork chops settle in it once it was hot enough. A few minutes later, I took them back out and let them rest. They smelled the same, but once they simmered down, I took a quick bite, braced for the worst.

With my mouth full of food, I shouted back to them, "Fixed it!"

Bringing out the fixed pork chops, I made sure everyone got one before I put the platter back on the counter. They weren't near as sour, but they still had a slightly bitter, slightly salty taste.

"Good job, Code! They're much better," said Nepgear.

I was glad to have fixed the problem, but I still questioned how Compa didn't notice something was wrong when she poured the lemon extract in, instead of using the lemon pepper that's normally a powdery substance. "Now that I think about it, is Compa the only one that cooks?"

"I work for what I need," said IF.

Nepgear sheepishly replied, "I've can cook, but I'm only good at very specific things."

"I have more important matters to attend to than cooking," said Cave.

Lyrica, instead of answering, asked, "How did you learn to cook? I don't remember teaching you anything like that."

I gave a shrug and said, "It's something I picked up over time. Just like cleaning and fixing odds and ends stuff. Living alone'll do that to you."

"Did it take you a while to learn all of it?"

"Oh yeah! You best believe it took a long time to get the...er, illogical parts sorted out."

The first words out of IF's smile-ridden mouth were, "Do tell."

"One time I tried to wash dishes and clothes in the washer at the same time. Worked fine until I put them in the dryer. Spent a week picking ceramic shards out of the damn thing."

While a couple of the others laughed, Cave said, "It seems you and Lyrica share the same lack of common sense. Care to hear some stories of her past endeavors?"

"Oh, not again..." groaned Lyrica.

Cave looked over to me and asked, "Perhaps you remember when Lyrica complained about a rattling noise in her guitar?"

My memory wasn't good enough to remember, but I nodded anyways.

"Earlier that week she had complained about losing her guitar picks. I happened to find Lyrica asleep in her room, still holding the guitar with her pick slowly falling inside."

Trying to hold back laughing, my gaze went to Lyrica as I asked, "And you had no idea you were losing your picks in there?"

"I-I-I di-didn't know..." she quietly said.

"Or there was when a fan tried to teach her the devil horns symbol, to which Lyrica immediately confused for the middle finger. She actually did this on stage once by accident, using the wrong symbol entirely and stunning the audience for a moment."

"Cave, would you please stop already? This is really embarassing!" cried Lyrica.

"Alright, enough teasing for tonight. Gotta save some for the future," IF chimed in, Lyrica giving a sigh and a smile her way.

Most everyone was done at that point, piles of plates being stacked at the sink to be washed. I didn't let Compa beat me to doing the dishes, leaving her to go join the others while I cleaned up. She cooked the food, and though she did screw up doing so, I wasn't going let her do everything. At least she was thankful that I took over dish duty. However, keeping Nepgear away was a different story. Rinsing the dishes complacently, she seemed totally happy with helping.

"You know, you're really stubborn."

Nepgear kept her smile up, replying, "I get that a lot."

"I can imagine."

A few minutes later, Nepgear asked, "Hey Code?"

"What is it?"

"This is gonna sound weird, but why didn't you say anything before?"

I saw it coming. I knew if there was anyone that was going to ask first, it would be Nepgear. "About Lyrica and I being related?"

"No, about your parents. Well, the first one too...but why didn't you mention anything about it? I would've offered a shoulder to cry on."

"Well, you don't see me crying, do you?"

"No, but still, it doesn't seem right to just let you deal with it."

If the girl was looking to trigger a companion quest to reconcile with my dead parents, she'd have to go without. "I don't mind it. Besides, I've got more important things going on in my life. Best to just let the past settle." I tried to offer her a disarming smile, but she seemed unfazed by it.

"Alright, but if you have problems, tell me. Okay?"

"I will."

"Promise?"

Rolling my eyes, I said, "I promise."

And yet again she asked, "You really promise?"

Holding a sudsy pan in my hand, I softly tapped her on the top of the head with it, saying as I held it there, "I promise. I really promise."

I never would've imagined Nepgear to be so stubborn, but it was nice to see that she cared. We exchanged smiles and continued washing the dishes. I didn't know where a lot of them went, but Nepgear took some liberties and put them where she thought they should go. Once finished, she bid me farewell and headed for the bedrooms, likely to either sleep or visit with the rest of the party.

The only bedroom that was available was Monty's, but he was out for the night and wouldn't be home til morning. Or at least, that was what Cave told me. I really hoped that I wouldn't wake up with a blade to my throat. Walking slowly down the cold steel hallways, the only sound that resonated in the neon-covered halls was my footsteps and my shallow heartbeat.

A door waiting at the end of the hall had 'Monty' engraved crudely on the top of it. Opening it with a rigid moan, I was greeted by a rather plain room. The only thing of note in the room that I could see was a few photos pinned up on the side of a vanity mirror by magnet. Just out of curiosity, I took a look at them. One of them was of a vast stonework city, and another looked like a bunch of wooden houses surrounded by evergreen trees, and that photo was sitting next to one of an old wooden warship.

"Guy gets around it seems," I said, heading to the bed settled in the corner of the room. It was stiff from what I felt, but I didn't care.

Unsheathing Grindrix, I rested her on my lap, looking into the blade that reflected the dull light above. "Is it really okay to just bury it? Should I go talk to Nepgear and Lyrica about them?"

The blade only reflected a dull light, unable to say a word to me. Not even the reflection of my parents appeared. My heart sank a little, and as I looked back up to the door, I asked again, "Should I really talk this out?"

Looking back at my blade, there still wasn't any response. I let out a deep sigh, my sullen heart sinking even further. It was getting even harder to tell what I was supposed to be doing. Shaking my head a little, I took a deep breath and told myself, "It's fine. I've got a party to protect. I won't make this their problem. I need to be strong for Miss Nepgear."

Again, I threw the thought of my dead parents away, casting it aside so I could focus on the task at hand. But I questioned how long I could keep doing that...

({+|-^-|o})

From the moment I woke up, I couldn't tell whether it was day or not. There wasn't a clock or windows to tell me if it was time to wake up. The likelihood of me actually getting back to bed wasn't high, so I worked my way to the edge of the bed, sitting myself up. A little dizzy, I grabbed Grindrix with a limp wrist and sheathed her on my back as I stood up. Walking to the door I could barely make out in the pitch black room, I opened it with a silent twist of the cold doorknob.

The hallways were just as lonely as ever, not a sound eminating from the various doors scattered along the hallway. I began to worry that I slept in, judging from the lack of humans in the halls. Entering the lobby, I finally saw Cave, sitting down a the main computer still, gazing intently at something.

"Hey, where is everyone?"

Cave quickly averted her attention to me, saying, "Oh, good morning Code. Lyrica and Nepgear are getting ready to leave still. IF and Compa had to leave earlier due to an emergency. Some drones were causing an issue outside of the Basilicom."

It was odd for IF to suddenly leave like she did. I wasn't about to hold it against her, but I figured that she would've stayed behind to let Cave take care of it. Then again, it gave IF some alone time with Compa. Still, I hoped that they would be alright. "Alright. I take it we're still going to get the equipment to bug the Basilicom?"

Cave gave me a firm nod.

"I'll go get the others then," I finished, walking down the hall. I could hear the noise of some kind of happy, cheery song echoing around faintly in the halls, completely overriding the faint, nearby hum of the neon lining the walls. I abandoned my search for Nepgear and Lyrica to hum in on the noise. Growing louder and louder with every step down the hall, I found myself right before Lyrica's cracked door.

I peeked quietly inside, slowly opening the door without a sound as I placed sparse pressure on it. Peering inside, I made not a peep as I watched Lyrica observe a strange video of two girls dancing to a cutesy techno song. Lyrica was mimicking the dance, moving her hips side to side while clasping her hands repeatedly near the top of her head. She wasn't singing any of it, but then again, the lyrics sounded far too foreign to be easily repeated.

Once I got further in the room, I could see Nepgear was in the room doing it too. Standing practically right behind the two of them, I asked at the end of the song, "What in the hell are you listening to?"

"Bwaaah!" Lyrica screamed like a writhing banshee.

Her hellish scream pierced my ears with a shrill spear of sound, summoning a fierce ringing that made me unable to hear my own voice. "My ears! I can't hear anything!"

Even Nepgear shrunk at her shriek of surprise, holding her ears until the ringing could cease. "Goodness you have a loud scream."

It took a few seconds before I could finally hear again. I couldn't tell how long Lyrica had been talking to us, but once I could hear her apologizing for the loud noise, I remarked, "I should record that scream for my alarm clock. I'd never sleep in again."

"What happened? Is everyone alright?" asked Cave from behind me.

I turned around, seeing her standing in the doorframe. "Everyone's alright, I just scared Lyrica by accident."

"I-I-I'm really s-sorry!" said Lyrica.

"It's fine," I said, "but are you two ready to go? We need to get around."

Nepgear, head tilted innocently to the side, asked, "Are you coming with us?"

"Well I'm sure as hell not letting you walk around unguarded," I harshly replied.

"What about your weapon? Won't that attract the drones attention?"

I had thought about that before, but I only had one response I could give in such a short notice. "I don't think they'll go against it unless they scanned it like when we first got here. Same with Nepgear, they shouldn't assume anything unless she's directly scanned."

The two of them nodded, Nepgear asking Cave, "Are you coming too?"

Cave shook her head. "I have to stay here to ensure the safety of the HQ."

"Looks like it's us three."

And with that said, the shenanigans ended. Lyrica shut off her laptop and we all left the room, traveling the desolate hallways without a word said between us. Back in the main room, the buzzing of the nearby computer fan was overshadowed by our almost-synchronized footsteps. Cave said her farewell as we left up the stairs to the outside world.

Standing on the asphault of the dark alleyway, I looked around for the lever that concealed the door. It was hard to see, but I got the door closed, and any unsuspecting sap that wandered back here likely wouldn't have any idea there was a door there. The distant light radiating from the end of the alleyway blinded the three of us. Sitting in the artificial lights of the HQ surely didn't do any good for our eyes.

Walking closer and closer to the sidewalk, our eyes adjusted and we no longer had to shield ourselves from the harshness that was sunlight. Lyrica took the lead, saying, "I think it's this way."

There were certainly more people walking around the sidewalks of Leanbox than say Planeptune. There was more activity, not so much talking though. People still had their noses buried in their phones rather than a portable console. Most of the random, 20-somethings I passed by on the street were more focused on their smartphones than where they were going.

"Huh, that's right. Leanbox doesn't have a portable console," I thought aloud.

"Well, they have smartphones, but a lot of people really don't consider it a portable console," replied Nepgear.

I could see why. Most of the games, from what I could see, looked more like minigames than a full-fledged gaming experience. It was hard for me to judge, but I couldn't imagine Restrict accepting anything but the commonplace sheep-making shovelware in hopes that it would brainwash the community into submission. It certainly looked like she was doing a good job of that, but the chances of me questioning it aloud weren't high with the drones stationed at every street corner.

The shaky Lyrica continued to hesitantly lead, second-guessing herself at every street. Leanbox itself, once one left the gate, quickly grew into a mess of enormous platforms supported by empty air. Strong steel kept the platforms aloft, holstering towering buildings of gleaming steel and bright-green neon. There was a surprising amount of foliage, green grass cowering in fear of the shadows cast by the tall skyscrapers and corporate buildings. The city truly was a city of the future, unfortunately complete with overprotective government drones straight out of a dystopian novel.

"Is it far from here?" Nepgear asked.

"I-I th-th-think so," replied Lyrica, her eyes glued to the floor. Every time someone passed, if they looked up from their smartphones, they immediately stared at Lyrica with their eyes a little widened. I personally forgot that she was a pop star that went off the grid. I kept my guard up in case one of the passers-by decided to blab his mouth. The moment someone did that, the drones would be swarming to us like vultures.

And just as that part is mentioned, a shakey nerd wandered up to Lyrica. "Excuse me, are you 5pb?"

"U-Umm, I-I-"

Before Lyrica could even defend herself, the anxious fan asked, "Could I have your autograph? Please?"

I took one step forward, hand reaching for my axe. Nepgear quickly grasped onto my hand, whispering, "That probably wouldn't be a good idea."

"I know it's not a good idea, but do you have a better one?" I asked sharply.

Nepgear wore a face of confusion, shrinking a little.

The fan, growing impatient, asked with an attention-grabbing voice, "Come on 5pb! You've been away from your fanbase so long, can't you spare one autograph?"

A metaphorical lightbulb appeared above Nepgear's head, the girl rushing behind Lyrica, whispering something in her ear. Lyrica immediately said with a shaken voice, "Y-you have m-m-me mistaken. I'm just a c-cosplayer, my name is Lyrica. N-not 5pb..."

The fan sunk his shoulders and lowered his arms, saying, "Really? Damn, and here I was hoping to meet a pop idol."

Lyrica secretely sighed, but she was still tense as ever.

"Can I at least get your picture? You may not be 5pb, but you look a lot like her for a cosplayer," said the fan.

The sound of that idea caused an alarm in my head to go off. "Crap, drones are gonna see that camera flash and go ballistic!" I thought to myself.

Before I could step in, Lyrica said, "I-I s-s-suppose so."

My hand wasn't going to leave the axe. Prepared for the worst, I watched Lyrica try her best to pose in a cute fashion, even though it was easy for anyone to see her shaking like a leaf on a tree. Nepgear helped her stay in position, probably also telling her to keep calm like I used to do when she got jittery like that.

The fan snapped his shot, but no flash went off. I immediately turned around to look at the nearest drone, and it hadn't budged an inch from where it was standing. The fan went about his business after thanking Lyrica. I looked to Nepgear and said, "Good thinking, Miss Nepgear."

"I'm glad it worked. I was worried that he wouldn't fall for it," Nepgear replied.

Lyrica was still shaking, her walking place slowed tremendously. Falling back to us, she said, "I-I-I don't know if I can do this, people k-keep staring at me..."

"Just relax, Lyrica. We're right here next to you. Nobody's gonna judge you, or bother you, or hurt you. I promise," I told her. That didn't do much, so I followed up with that, telling her, "Sing something to yourself."

She listened that time, singing a couple soft songs to herself.

"I hardly remember you being so shy before, Lyrica," said Nepgear.

Interrupted from her singing, Lyrica said, "It's the machines. They make me a bit paranoid. Especially with interacting with people."

In all honesty, I was surprised myself that the drones didn't pick up Grindrix as being modded. Rectangular security cameras began to replace the drones on the ground. Like vast, predatory birds, the drones in the sky still watched the distant ground below, ready to strike at the first malfeasance. On guard, I continuously scanned the environment, checking every nook and cranny for possible threats.

"So, Nepgear. How'd you get to know Lyrica?" I asked, still watching the environment.

"She helped us during a fight with Underling when we were rescuing Chika. We surely would've lost without her, and she followed with us during that journey to play songs around the world," said Nepgear.

I didn't know who Underling was, nor did I particularly care. She was an enemy of Nepgear, and that was all I needed. However, I found it a tad interesting that Chika had been captured in the past. Hearing that made me think it all the more likely it could've happened again.

Lyrica shied and replied, "I-It was nothing...I c-certainly couldn't have done it a-alone." She formed a faint smile and said, "I'm glad I came along though. It was fun, even if I didn't play all that much."

"Sorry about that," said Nepgear sheepishly.

"N-no, don't take it like that. I didn't mean it like that."

"From the sounds of it, you took good care of Lyrica," I asked, looking towards the happy Nepgear walking beside me.

Nepgear nodded firmly, telling me, "I did my best for her. She surely did the same, even though she was more than capable of fighting on her own."

After a moment of silence, Lyrica looked over to Nepgear and asked, "H-Have you been taking g-good care of my cousin?"

I stepped in before Nepgear could, saying, "She's helped me through a lot of tough times, and she's fought on my behalf almost as much as I've fought on her's."

Nepgear, flashing her serious side for a moment, stated, "But I depend on him much more than he does me."

"What she means to say is that, though she depends on me, I depend on her just as much, but she won't admit it," I retorted.

Lyrica grew a small smile, saying, "It shows that you both trust each other."

I gave the little rocker a pat on the head, telling her, "Don't think you're unaccounted for though."

She hastily removed my hand, uttering, "P-please don't do that in public!"

Nepgear and I both gave soft laughs.

Somewhere along our talk, I happened to see a drone sheathing itself in the darkness in an alleyway. I stopped immediately, able to see something hiding underneath the jittery machine. It was difficult to see exactly what was going on, leading me to take a couple steps in that direction.

"Code, what's wrong?" asked Nepgear quietly.

Moving daft hands, I silently unsheathed Grindrix, slinging her over my shoulder. A few steps closer, I could see a small child cowering underneath the machine.

Distantly, the small child cried with a soft voice, "Please don't take it! It's my grandfather's..."

"Relinquish your foreign technology or you will be executed," said the drone in a monotonous voice void of feeling or emotion.

Finally close enough, I could see the child holding a Lowee handheld. It was easy to identify it over Lastation's, mainly due to the coloring.

"Relinquish the device at once," the drone commanded again, recieving mere cries of distress and fear from the child.

I bit my lip hard, unable to keep my shaking hands from acting.

"Code?" asked Lyrica.

A light in the dark was summoned in an instant, the drone flashing its plasma blade. I stopped breathing, surrendering myself to impulse in a rapid dash. Grindrix rested solemnly on my shoulder in my sudden break into sprint, not even reflecting the pale yellow color of the drone's plasma sword. Masking my every step, I neared the robot as soon as his arm went back to strike.

Using the momentum, I hopped on the back of the drone, standing firmly as I twisted its head around to face me with its cold red gaze. "Hey bitch, eyes on me."

One swift, clean, quiet cut decapitated the machine, making it fall limp to the side with thud and a rattle.

On firm ground, I looked down to the still wimpering kid. His persistant crying hinted that he was just as terrified of me. I gave a clouded look to him, saying strongly, "That robot won't be bullying you anymore."

Joining back with the others, bathed in a radiant light, both Lyrica and Nepgear wore expressions of concern. But underlaying that was a secret smile. "That was very kind of you to do," said Nepgear.

Lyrica added, "I-It was a l-l-little risky though..."

"I won't lie, that may bring some unwanted attention, as much as we don't need it," I said, taking my place behind the leading Lyrica. "But there was no way in hell I was gonna sit back and just watch that."

"You're lucky your LUK stat is so high," Nepgear said with disarming smile.

I had a feeling that played a part in it, but also felt that my LUK was about to run out. What I just did probably just put my name back on the blacklist. Repercussions would be harsh, I could already tell. No matter what though, I wouldn't have done otherwise.

After Lyrica led us around a few hundred blocks, circling around multiple of them by accident, we finally came across a rather plain looking building. Typical glossy steel coated the outside, followed by sturdy green linings on the interior to complement the neon highlights etched into the building. Going inside the glass doors, we were greeted by a heated interior that was matted with dusty air.

"This place hasn't been visited in a while." I said in between coughs.

"I think the air conditioner's got some problems. Shall I go fix it?" asked Nepgear.

Lyrica, still guiding us through hallways and stairwells, said, "No, don't worry about that. We need to find my equipment before anything."

Up on the third floor was a room coated in speakerware and wires. The floor was a mess, but it didn't look like anything in the room was disturbed, so it likely wasn't looters. "Lyrica, do you usually keep your rooms this messy?" asked Nepgear.

"I-I don't do it on purpose! It's h-hard to organize that stuff!"

"I would help if you asked." said Nepgear.

"Don't forget why we're here Miss Nepgear. We need to find the bugging equipment," I interrupted.

Nepgear nodded, asking Lyrica, "What exactly does it look like?"

Still rummaging through her old cabinets and assorted shelves, she said without looking our way, "It looks like a microphone with a speaker on the top."

I took up rummaging through Lyrica's recording studio. There were some occasional pieces of recording equipment in the bland, white-colored room that had only a single table and chair, both wearing the same plain white. A few bits of wiring escaped from the room, and a single dusty microphone rested on the table. I checked around the room, underneath the table and on top of it too. It wasn't hidden anywhere inside, leading me to leave the room. In a search almost as exciting as a point-and-click adventure, Nepgear had found our sought item hidden behind the curtains of the single window in the room.

"It's over here!" Chimed Nepgear.

"Good, now we can get back to base and put it to use," I commented, turning to face Nepgear.

Just as I tried to step toward her, something jolted the structure of the building, making a firm vibration on the floor and scattering dust from the ceiling. The pale sunlight, filtered by dust, was shadowed by the sudden appearance of a large black machine, revealing its slender, camera-like head. Nepgear fled back away from it as it watched us from the window. The single, ever-shifting lens on the machine retracted and zoomed in frequently, capturing every detail of us.

"How'd he find us?" Lyrica sharply whispered.

It was when it moved its head closer that I was able to read the white letters on its head. "5URV3Y...damn, this isn't good. And I have a feeling this isn't just a random encounter."

In a voice made of buzzing and static, 5URV3Y harshly stated with rigidity, "You know you can't hide. I've been watching your every move since you left that pitiful secret base that your party led me too when you arrived. No matter what you do or say, I _will _record it."

({+|-^-|o})

With a quick keystroke, Cave had managed to get feeds for all of the surveillance cameras real-time footage. She had to follow a guide from the internet to do it, but she managed to view the city from the hundreds of cameras mounted around the streets. Browsing through the assorted cameras, Cave paid no attention to Monty, who had approached moments before.

"It seems that 5URV3Y is gone from his usual perch," stated Monty.

Cave, wearing a look of disdain, said, "I'm aware. I can't say I'm too pleased about this fact."

She flipped to a camera just outside of Lyrica's former studio, seeing a large black machine clinging to the side of the building. Her eyes widened, she stood up with the chair falling backwards behind her. "Lyrica!"

Turning around to rush out of the main computer room, Cave was greeted with the sound of something being shattered up the stairwell leading outside. Pistons shifting meshed with the sounds of rocks rolling down the metal stairs, Cave and Monty both drawing their weapons.

({+|-^-|o})

And poor Aksys sat in her jail cell, forcing herself to cough up a fit, wincing her eyes like she was in pain. She'd say to the sole drone guarding the cells, "Help me, I think I'm really sick!"

"Invalid response," stated the drone with its firm, electronic voice.

"But I'm really sick! Really sick!" repeated Aksys.

"Invalid response."

Aksys, standing up, gave a shrug and a sigh, uttering to herself, "You machines are too dull! Tried to trick you, tried to make you self destruct with a paradox, everything! And you just stand there like you're stupid! Way to make my escape anticlimactic!"

There was only thing Aksys had left that she could do, and she didn't have a care in the world about the consequences. Getting near the bars, Aksys used the rest of her remaining SP to cast her favorite spell. "Heltic Nova!" shouted Aksys.

The damage coupled with the blinding sent the drone crashing into the jail cell, right where Aksys was. Working her hand through the columns of plasma that contained her, she dragged the drone close enough to her that she could loot his sword from his shorted out corpse. Attached to the drone's grey and black arm was a small machine that Aksys knew as the plasma sword. She acted fast and ripped the sword off, her struggled sending her backwards as the sword became hers.

Pushing a convenient button inside the sword's handle, a bright yellow sword shot out. "Oooh, shiny!" claimed Aksys, her eyes going straight over to the plasma bars that confined her. With a quick slash, she disrupted the flow of the plasma, freeing her. In turn though, the alarm went off, chiming a loud siren in response.

"You're annoying!" said Aksys, throwing her sword at the loudspeaker mounted into the wall, the hallways becoming silent again. She looked down the short hallway, decorated with sparse steel supports, no neon to line the walls. The faint glow of the plasma gates binding the other prisonmates made an eerie yellow color along the hall. Walking down, Aksys could read some of the digital displays on the wall, stating the names of the people in the cells.

"Linda?" Aksys read the digital nameplate.

The moment her name was read, the girl, clad in a dark hoodie and dark sweatpants, shot up, close enough to the plasma to almost burn her green hair. "Hey, hey girl! You actually bustin' outta here?"

"Yeah!" said Aksys, almost face to face with the girl, wearing a casual smirk.

"You have to get me outta here man, I'm beggin' ya! Anything you want, just bust me outta here!"

Aksys stood back and thought about it for a brief second. Walking away with her unique smile of carelessness, Aksys uttered, "Nope!"

"Come on, seriously?! I've been here for almost a year, you have to get me out of here!" Linda complained. When she realized it was useless to continue crying, she slumped back in her cell and said with a pout, "Fine, I don't need help anyways."

Aksys continued going back further and further, eventually at the back where a large door made of stainless steel. Several solid steel bars barricaded access to the room, the way in being a hand scanner. Above that hand scanner was a digital display that read, "Critical Containment" in large red lettering, Aksys remarking, "Sounds super secret! Cool!"

Behind Aksys was the sound of a machine nearing her. Immediately turning around with her careless smile intact, Aksys shouted to the approaching drone, "Hey, I wanna see what's in here! Help me get in?"

Rearing its sword back as it rushed to Aksys, the drone had only the intent to kill. No longer was Aksys wanted for capturing. Just at the last second before the drone could cut her in half, Aksys leapt in the air, the drone's blade piercing some of the metal bars behind her. Kicking the drone square in the mechanical dome, she disarmed the machine with brute strength, tearing the entire left arm off.

"Got your arm!" cheered Aksys, decapitating the drone with one swift move. Turning around, she saw where the plasma had cut a red-hot gash into the steel protecting the room. She didn't look forward to tediously cutting a hole into the door, but she got it done. Kicking the steel open, she let in a sparse amount of light into the dark room. Crouching slightly, Aksys looked down to a woman kept bound in chains with hardly a finger to tend to herself with. The woman was clad in revealing, black and green garments and had long mint-colored hair.

Aksys tilted her head to the side in confusion and asked, "Who're you?"

* * *

><p>Yeah, I attempted both Cave and Lyrica today. I HOPE like hell I got it at least somewhat close. I think I did. Hope so. So yeah, bout that dialogue, there's a lot of it. And exposition. I tried...please don't kill me...<p>

The next chapter...unfortunately may take a while. I return to college literally tomorrow (as of this being published), and since I'll have my hands full, so it might be a little while, but it WILL get done eventually. Oh, and there'll be more action. And more casualness. Cause dystopias can get boring after a while. And this will be the last time I split them all up, I swear! I know how frustrating it can be. So this is the last time, I swear! Okay, maybe ONE more time after this. Well, maybe two-nonono, just once more, I swear. I need to train myself to quit doing that...

So, fun fact, in the midways of this chapter, I had Code read a list of strange "files" (points to those who get the reference), and for some unearthly reason, Fanfiction decided to delete the EXEC .overMethod part twice in a row! I had to put a space between EXEC and .overMETHOD to get it to quit doing that. I don't suppose Fanfiction itself is trying to actually READ that as a file is it? Or is it just my browser?

Anyways, farewell, select few people that haven't abandoned me yet!


	18. Finish the Fight

Hey guys, long time no update. I've been cooking this one up all summer, fine tuning it as much as I could for your reading pleasure. It's a bit more neutral, but I'm doing better with keeping everyone together. The next chapter's already in the works and planned out so, with luck, there may even be another update before the end of summer. Without luck though, expect it to be finished this coming winter when I have another vacation. Be patient my readers, it's chugging along bit by bit, and thanks to a great proofreader helping me clean these up, I can work a little faster.

* * *

><p>In a blurred pace, entranced in a rush of thought, I couldn't find the time to react. Lyrica sprung forward boldly, her guitar out and ready. Her hand flung down in a blur of motion, releasing a deafening shockwave that scattered dust, shattered windows, and, most importantly, deactivated 5URV3Y for the shortest of moments. In that moment, Nepgear shot off for the door with Lyrica and I right behind her. Scattering dust in our wake, our train of now-blacklisted teammates ran down the sidewalks of Leanbox with all eyes on us.<p>

"Where should we go?" I asked Nepgear.

Still dashing through the crowds, Nepgear said, "I think we should head back to the headquarters."

My eyes widened and I said sharply, "We can't head back there, we'll lead the swarm right to us! For all we know, they're probably already raiding the place as we speak!"

The mere thought of the base under attack elicited a prompt panic from Lyrica. "We have to go check on Cave!" proclaimed Lyrica without a second thought from the back of the group.

Before I could chime in another worried remark, a vibration along the sidewalk drew my attention behind us. 5URV3Y was already up and charging, his imposing stature casting shadows on the fleeing people around. He was good and pissed, and though I couldn't do much to slow him, I took potshots at him with Shredrix while we fled. He started swinging at Lyrica's heels, missing by inches with his plasma blades. The hasty machine left deep gashes in the sidewalk with its blades.

Panicked even further, Lyrica diverged from us, fleeing into a dark, narrow alley.

"Lyrica!" I shouted for her attention. When I saw her vanish, 5URV3Y only took a brief second to glance her way before seeking after me next. I could feel his swords scrape at my feet, tearing through the wind in search of flesh. Nepgear, taking the same idea Lyrica did, tried to take an alleyway as well, traffic screeching to a stop to make way for our wild chase.

I started to run out of breath, as did Nepgear. The relentless machine pursued us still with plenty of room in the brightly lit alleyway. A searing heat nipped my ankle, making me trip and collide with the asphault. Nepgear stopped on a dime to see me scattered on the floor with 5URV3Y raising its swords high for the kill.

A radiant heat whizzed right above my head, almost searing my scalp. A white beam of energy blinded me as it sunk into 5URV3Y's blades to disarm him. I took that brief second to reach for Shredrix, only to feel the sudden throttle of 5URV3Y launching me into a wall. Bones snapped in my spine and a surge of warmth flooded my backside, painting the steel behind me with scattered blood. I could see in a fuzzy picture 5URV3Y picking up the helpless, transformed Nepgear, frozen in fear and without the strength to free herself even in HDD.

"Insignificant humans. I'll have you silenced and jailed at once." said 5URV3Y, changing his free hand into a needle.

Seeing that needle pierce Nepgear's flesh gave me more adrenaline than I needed. Up on my feet with drops of metallic blood trailing me, I changed Shredix back to an axe and started Shieldspin. With every ounce of my strength I had left, I angled Shieldspin into a buzzsaw aimed for 5URV3Y's arms and launched the axe forward.

Sparks flew and oil spilled over both of us as 5URV3Y reeled back in shock, his single eye staring down at the stumps where his forearms should've been. Nepgear, dropped with a thud on the ground, wretching on the ground in pain from the poison running in her veins. Her HDD was gone and she had no strength at all left.

If that mechanical beast was going to kill either of us, I wanted to make sure it was me. With the sparse amount of air going into my lungs, I shot at 5URV3Y with a smile and a laugh of abandon, "Now you're really disarmed!"

5URV3Y's immediate response was to crush me under its metal foot, pinning me to the floor and crushing my ribs.

Nepgear, shaky, unfocused eyes aimed at me, shouted with her faint breath, "Code!"

My hearing fading and my vision blurring, I let my hand fall towards Miss Nepgear, whispering with a deathly whine, "Get out of here, Miss Nepgear."

I could see her blurry image waddling towards me, not to my surprise. It wasn't like her to leave a teammate, no matter how many times she was told to. Still watching her, I was blinded by the sight of a bright light. Just when I thought I had finally bitten the dust, my vision returned and the pressure on my chest was no more. It was too fuzzy to see properly, but I could make out a familiar pair of figures, both donned in white and red.

"We need to get going, now!"

({+|-^-|o})

Waking up to the sounds of muffled conversation, I struggled to open my crusted eyes. My vision was still far too hazy to make out anything, but I still propped myself up to try and get a look around the room. Dizziness almost forced me back down, but the movement, while blood-churning, helped slowly refocus my eyes.

"Ah, the other one's up. 'Bout time," commented a familiar, drowned-out voice.

I tried to prop myself up further, a stinging pain in my chest rejecting the movement. I winced and lowered myself down with my vision still aimed towards the voice. While my eyes refocused, I commented back to IF, "You aren't killing me off that easy. I'm too plot essential."

"Hmph," grunted IF.

A sudden face showed up right in my view, making me reel back with a searing pain in my chest. Wincing again, I looked up to see the disgruntled face of Lyrica.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

I tried to smirk to her, my lips struggling to move. "I should be asking you the same thing. You ran off during the pursuit, had no idea what happened to you."

A couple of tears formed in the corners of her eyes as she said, "I'm really really sorry. I-I-I was r-really scared a-and I didn't know w-what to do and-"

I gave her a soft pat on the head, wearing my best broken smile, and said, "I'm just glad you're okay. That's all I need to know."

She stared at me for a moment, stunned, then smiled and said, "Same to you."

I looked past her to see Cave bringing in Monty, who was torn up pretty bad. Past that I could see a worn-out Compa tending to Nepgear, who had several bandages on her.

"She better be okay." I said to Compa from across the room.

"As much as I want to give you good news, Gear got pretty screwed up," said IF.

Compa continued with a sullen tone that was unbecoming of her, "She has Skillseal and Virus, and I don't have any potion on me right now to help with it."

"I thought the medic was always supposed to be well-stocked," I commented casually. It was surprising that I was able to keep as calm as I was. I failed to protect the one person I swore to always defend. I guessed that I just didn't even have the energy to beat myself up over it.

Nepgear, propping herself up like I was, said, "I know I couldn't do much, so I'm really sorry-"

"You did more than enough." I interjected immediately.

"But you did even more, more than I could've even done," Nepgear continued, taking a second to get her breath back. The room quieted, save for the barely heard television turned on in the back of the small, cramped room. "I'm really proud of you."

"Dammit, you stole my line." I said with a disarming grin.

Butting into the conversation was IF, with her usual snark. "See, if you'd have just waited for me, you both wouldn't have been pounded by that overgrown toy."

"Um, where are we at again?" asked Nepgear.

"You are in an abandoned garage towards the south side of Leanbox. An ex-Leanbox Military Officer allowed us access for the time being. At least, until we recuperate," said Cave, still wrapping up the dead-silent Monty. Either he was too ashamed to speak, or too injured to.

"Which means we're living on borrowed time right now," said Lyrica.

I really didn't want to hear that, but straining myself too much would cause more problems than it would fix. We at least had some kind of grace period, but unfortunately, we were rats in a corner. Judging from the scenario, the headquarters were screwed, and without any of our technology to get our names off the blacklist, we would be hunted on sight. At the moment, there wasn't any drones scanning the room from the sole windows lining the upper walls, but I still didn't like the feeling of helplessness.

"Hey, instead of recapping the situation in your head, why don't you get up and move around some," said IF bluntly, her eyes shifting to the TV. All that was playing was a strange arena game where four different colored teams competed against each other in random events. "Go change the channel on the TV. The announcer on that game show's getting on my nerves."

"What is this, some kind of tutorial mission?" I jested.

Earning a teasing grin, IF said, "Push the left stick to move and use the right stick to move the camera."

"Haha, real funny." I moaned, unable to keep back a grin of my own. Rising out of the seat didn't hurt so much as walking around did. My body adapted and stopped seriously hurting after a few steps. I changed the channel over to the news, where my attention was immediately grabbed by a most bizarre sight.

"Two women riding atop mag-rail trains, destroying drones in the process in a ride across city. One woman appears to be Leanbox's long lost Oracle, Chika Hakazoki," read the headlines running along the bottom of the screen. A brief clip without audio showed Aksys and Chika atop a mag-rail train, Aksys ripping apart drones along the way.

I quickly looked over to Nepgear and said, "We need to get them and quick."

"Wait up now," interrupted IF, "you probably should consult the rest of us first before taking off. Neither of you are even healed yet!"

"Healed or not, we have to rescue them!" said Nepgear firmly.

"I believe it would be wise to form battle plans before making any moves," Cave said with her gaze centralized over the world. Standing tall in the corner, she was like a sergeant directing a squad.

Compa, adding her input with a hint of hesitance, asked, "With Ge-Ge and Cody hurt, wouldn't it be a better idea to find a safe place to withdraw to?"

"Normally, we wouldn't be able to step out for a minute without being targeted by the drones," said IF. "They're distracted right now, but once they get back to the search, we're screwed."

"We're rats backed up into a corner. The only way out is forward right now." I added.

Thick tension choked the mood, spirals of emotions going every which way with the dust in the room. IF spoke up through the warm, tense air, saying, "If we're going to attack, now is the best time to do it."

One by one, from Nepgear to Lyrica, from Compa to Cave, we all agreed. The time to act was upon us.

"I'm ready to put Leanbox back together," Cave said confidently.

"I-I am too!" added Lyrica.

"Alright, then on to the plan," IF started, redirecting her gaze to Lyrica. "5pb., do you have the bugging device?"

Lyrica took a second to rummage in her pockets, retrieving a slightly dented device. "It's a bit broken up, but it should still work."

"Nepgear, can you tailor the bugging device to draw in 5URV3Y alone?"

"I'm sure I can make it work," Nepgear confidently finished, retrieving the bugging device and fiddling with it using her N-Gear.

IF, continuing with a gaze on Compa, said, "Compa, I need to you to use whatever you have left to make sure Code and Nepgear will be strong enough to rescue Aksys and Chika."

I chuckled and said, "It almost sounds like you doubt me."

"Oh, so I should assume from the numerous bandages that you're completely fine?" IF asked.

I couldn't really argue with her. I did feel better, but some painkillers certainly wouldn't hurt.

"Might I ask what Lyrica, Monty, and I will be doing?" asked Cave, aiding Compa in looking over Monty.

IF turned her attention to Cave, exchanging calm, collected stares. "You and Lyrica will be joining Compa and I in assaulting the Basilicom. Our goal is to take out Restrict and shut down the servers keeping the drones up."

Cave nodded her head firmly, Lyrica wearing her most determined expression when she said firmly, "Right!"

"Alright, let's get prepped and ready then."

Compa took her time in measuring out how much medicine she could spare for us both, heading to Nepgear first when she was ready. Nepgear, still working on the bugging device, shivered a little when Compa applied the medicine.

While I waited for Compa to finish up helping Nepgear, I walked over to Lyrica. My body sung notes of grief, interrupted from its healing process. Suppressing my winces, I asked Lyrica, "Nervous?"

She looked up at me not with eyes of worry, but with an expression of hope and confidence. "A little. But I think we can do this."

"I know we can do this," I corrected her. Gifting her a smile, I continued, "Be careful out there. And don't let anything get you down when you're out there. Be confident like you are on stage."

Returning the smile, Lyrica nodded, humming a soft tune to herself. With that done, I started towards Nepgear, glancing over to see Cave attempt to smile towards me. It came out kinda broken, but points for effort.

"How's the patient?" I asked Compa.

"Ge-Ge is as good as I can get her right now. Just as long as she doesn't overdo it, she'll be just fine."

"Hear that?" I asked the aloof Nepgear. Her eyes were so focused on her N-Gear that an explosion wouldn't pry her attention. A few seconds passed of her playing with the machine before she snapped out of her trance.

"Oh, so sorry, what did you say?" Nepgear asked, her innocent smile returning.

I rolled my eyes and said, "When we're out there, you need to be careful. We're going after a speeding train, so it's not going to be easy, and you're not exactly in shape for anything strenuous."

She nodded her head as her smile faded.

"If you ever feel like you aren't going to make it, or you're going to slip, or you're going to get really hurt, or-"

"She gets the point," IF butted in.

"You stay right next to me," I finished sternly.

Nepgear said casually as she shut off her N-Gear, "I trust that you'll protect me."

"He better!" said IF.

Compa added in with her aloof expression, "Iffy, have some faith in Cody!"

"It sounds like she's a little worried," I teased IF.

"O-Of course I'm worried..." IF admitted under her breath.

A soft chuckle escaped my pale lips. In spite of the oppressive atmosphere, my party members had found a way to make me smile. I said with a lightened expression, "Neither of you need to worry. I'm here for a reason, remember?"

As Nepgear got up to give me room for Compa to heal me, the loose tin roof above us shook, the wind quivering in fear as a shadow loomed nearby. I thrust Nepgear down just as everyone hit the floor. A red, sweeping beam scoured the room for a moment, the air constricted in tension. The shadow zoomed past without a second thought, the rest of us reduced to whispers for the moment.

"We need to make haste," Monty quietly uttered, attempting to get up. He grunted off any pain he felt, but just one look at him could tell someone that he's critically injured.

Compa hastened the application of the healing potions and solvents, giving each of us a single Energy Fragment for emergencies. I felt much better, unable to feel the wincing pain from before. I worried about how long that solvent would last, but I gladly accepted what I got. Monty certainly looked like he needed it more than me, but he shrugged off his pain, attempting to stand firm and proud.

"I think it would be a good idea to put the bug on the train once we're on. What do you think?" asked Nepgear, who looked at me with a quizzical look.

"I don't know, what do you think?" I asked.

"Well, I thought it would be a good idea to do that."

"Then do it," I finished with a smirk. She looked at me with a disheartened expression. I casually flashed a smile and said, "Have more confidence in your decisions Miss Nepgear. Question is though, where are we going to depart off the train?"

"I think the train passes by the Basilicom some way into the city," said Lyrica.

"Sounds like a plan," I said. Putting my worn, torn jacket on, I struggled to shake my nervous spell.

"Alright everyone, let's move. It's now or never, there's no resetting the game if things go to hell," said IF.

With everyone ready, lined up behind the door leading out, we opened the door of the garage and poured out. Nepgear and I took off down one way of the street, working our way through crowds with the other group slowly falling out of sight. Our mission was to board the train that Chika and Aksys were on and ride it towards the Basilicom, getting off there to join the others.

"I certainly hope Aksys and Chika are okay. I can't imagine riding atop a train like that is safe, and the drones are probably swarming them to catch up," Nepgear said between hurried breaths.

"Aksys will be fine up there. We need to focus on how we're gonna slow the train down so we can get on it. Any ideas, Miss Nepgear?"

"I think I can tap into the station's terminal. I'm fairly sure I can stop it so we can get on."

"Make sure we depart quickly afterwards. We can't let the swarm amass or we'll have a helluva fight to deal with."

Nepgear gave an assured nod, leading me through Leanbox's back streets. Our breaths alligned with our rhythmic footsteps, people gazing openly at our drawn weapons and dead sprint to the train station. I could only assume Nepgear knew where she was going, I surely didn't. Right on time, we saw the glistening glass of the station, tampering with our vision in the brief seconds we took to approach it. Hastily moving aside people on our climb up the stairs, Nepgear apologizing the whole way, we saw the control terminal, along with a fast approaching train in the distance.

Immediately going to work on the terminal, I could hear Nepgear's every frustrated word. I said to her from the distance as I watched the train, "You might wanna hurry!"

"Goodness, this isn't responding to my N-Gear. W-What sh-should I do?"

The train was mere seconds away from us. With little other choice, I chose a reckless idea to be our way onto that unyielding train. I grabbed onto Nepgear's soft hand, pulling her towards the platform with all eyes on me. I told her over the gasps and worried whispers of the crowd, "Hold onto me tight and don't let go!"

In a freeze-frame moment, the white train in front of me for a fraction of a second, I swung Grindrix into the train with all my might, her blade embedding into steel. The sudden acceleration almost forced my hand from Grindrix, but my strength kept us loosely hanging off the side of the speeding train. Nepgear was close enough to the door that she used her strength to pull herself in.

"Get the blade out of the train, I'll catch you!" said Nepgear, holding her hand out towards me.

The mere thought of disengaging shot up red flags in my brain. "Screw that!" I shouted, kicking out the window on the side of the train, forcing myself inside in an awkward fashion. Standing atop a leather seat, I leaned out of the window to retrieve Grindrix, only for her to suddenly get free. I didn't even have time to realize what happened, or even the time to shout in concern. Leaning back in and over to Nepgear revealed that she had caught Grindrix at the last second.

"Lose something?" she asked with a crooked smile.

I took back Grindrix, saying to her, "Thanks sis, I owe you one."

Looking up at the small sunroof, I used Grindrix to punch out the glass before hopping up. The feel of the glass scraping on my skin wasn't pleasant at all, but at least it helped make way for Nepgear. With the whipping wind trying to push me back in, I helped Nepgear up with me, her hair wildly flailing around in the rush of wind. Our mere presence warranted the attention of a pair of pursuing drones. Before they could fire their lasers, a quick black object picked the both of them out of the sky, followed by the approach of Aksys with Chika right behind her.

"Took you long enough!" shouted Aksys over the wild winds.

"Hey, it's not exactly easy to catch a train when it's going 120 miles an hour!" I replied bluntly.

Nepgear, stepping forward, asked, "Is Chika okay?"

"You mean the mouthy one? Yeah, she's okay I think," said Aksys, leaning casually on her scythe.

"Mouthy?!" shouted Chika, "I'll show you mouthy!"

"Cut the chit chat kids," I commanded firmly, "Our plan is that once this train gets to the Basilicom, we're getting off to join the fight with the rest of our group."

Our conversation was cut off by the approach of five more drones, their steel glistening in the midday sun. Lasers sawed through steel at our very feet.

"Heltic Nova!" shouted Aksys, pulling two of the flyer from the sky before flinging her scythe at another.

I quickly shoved Chika back towards Nepgear, taking potshots off at another drone. "Nepgear, watch after Chika. We'll take the lead."

With the sun as our spotlight in the mess of shrouded steel skyscrapers, the train kept grinding along its linear path, the drones matching our speed. They fired at us with the intent to kill. The bounty above our heads was too much for a simple jailing, but we weren't going down without a good fight.

"Aksys, finish this one off!" I commanded.

"Righte-o!" she cheered, flinging her scythe again towards my target. The drone's wings were clipped and it went crashing into a looming skyscraper like a firework.

With the coast clear for a brief moment, I shouted to Nepgear, "Plant the bug in the front while we have time!"

"Roger!"

Aksys and I took lead with Chika and Nepgear in the back, careful not to fall off. The winds threatened to push us off while we ran forward, and the pressure of the sheer force could knock the wind out of a person, making it hard to catch our breath in our mad dash, but steady footing helped us to the front of the speeding train. While Nepgear secured the bug onto the slanted windshield of the front car, I took a look around and saw more drones heading our way.

While I took potshots off at the drones, I asked Chika, "How far are we from the Basilicom?"

"You mean you don't even know where it is from here?" she asked in response.

"That doesn't answer my question!"

"About thirty minutes."

I gave an exhausted sigh and said, "This is gonna be one helluva ride."

"Tunnel!" shouted Nepgear, ducking down near the front, clung to the windshield like a massive insect.

When I looked forward, for the brief second I was still standing, I was practically staring right at a steel girder. My body had never dropped so fast to the ground than it did in that millisecond where I was about to be swept off the train.

Body flat to the train, Aksys exclaimed with a psychotic smile, "This is fun!"

And to that I sighed, "I hate trains..."

({+|-^-|o})

"Keep the drones off of us, we can't run with lasers on our heels!" exclaimed IF, using what little she had in her pistols to shoot back at a patrol of drones that spotted them.

Cave, summoning a sixtet of small floating options, she fired a multitude of green lasers that rendered two drones inoperable. Cave's bullet spreads couples with Compa's acid quickly dispatched the trailing troops. Hardly a soul was on the streets they ran through, and anyone else remaining quickly ran off in fear of the mobile gunfight. A pair of drones approached from ahead, red, watchful eyes preparing deadly laser beams.

"Lyrica, stun them!" commanded IF.

Without a hint of hesitation, Lyrica let out a shocking sound that dropped both of the oncomers in a storm of electricity. IF, who led the pack with Monty next to her, synchronized with the quiet assassin to go for the kill. Using their hidden blades, they gave quick, fatal stabs to the CPU of their respective drones, using the kill to boost their momentum.

"Not bad," said the both of them in unison.

All the drones dead gave the group more room to move and more speed. Still sprinting through the vast, steel city, the Basilicom's radio tower poked high above the skyscrapers, drones encircling it. Green neon lined the whole building, riding along a bulky, but elaborate complex of shining steel. Holograms of blood-red flashed along embedded display screens, warning of a security breach.

"I can see the Basilicom!" said Lyrica, eyes focused on the radio tower's sole, red light.

"Good...I'm getting a bit tired of running..." gasped Compa.

On cue, near the final stretch to the Basilicom doors, drones aplenty came swooping down for the kill. Compa sprayed her acid high in the sky to melt the blackened metal of drones, while Cave and Monty worked together to run the drones into one another with slick movements and bullet spreads.

Jumping high into the air, Monty readied his hidden blade before pouncing atop a floating drone, twisting his blade in the front of the machine and overriding control. "Go, get inside and shut these down!" shouted Monty, using his commendeered drone to shoot the others out of the sky.

Nobody had the time to argue with him.

"I hope he'll be okay out there..." said Compa.

"Monty is more than capable of handling himself. He's been through much worse than this," replied Cave, helping IF pry open the Basilicom doors. A gust of stagnant air fled from captivity in the solid steel Basilicom. The scent of circuitry and hot steel meshed with the sweaty odor coming from the newcomers. Two stoic, steel guardians, clad in even more armor than their brethren stood watch at the door to the meeting hall. Their red eyes reflected delight as they saw the intruders step towards them.

"Be careful, avoid getting hit by their plasma swords!" said Cave, taking the liberties of firing first. She aggro'd the left guardian, who charged forward with a ground shaking step. IF and Cave both treated the stampeding machine like a mad bull, stepping casually out of the way before continuing fire. The machine quickly snapped around without hesitation, swinging a plasma sword at IF, singing her sleeves in a near miss.

"La Delphinus!" called IF, unleashing a barrage of holy light that did little to the machine but blind it momentarily.

"Circuitbreaker," the left guardian called through its static-filled voicebox. It shoved its sword through the ground, superheating the ground in a long, narrow strip. IF and Cave both were caught in it, with IF paralyzed as a result.

"Iffy!" shouted Compa, directing her gaze from the right guardian to her debilitated friend. Using one of three Anti-Paralysis items, Compa freed IF. But in that brief moment that Compa's attention was drawn away, Lyrica was put in the sights of a laser sword barrage from both guardians. In a sheer panic, Lyrica let loose another strong shockwave that knocked chunks of armor off the guardians. Her desperate act revealed their weakness, a shining red core located in their chests.

"Shoot the core!" shouted Cave, firing off her options in a glistening stream of laser power. IF clambered aboard the left guardian and stabbed furiously at the glowing, red core. All the while Compa sprayed a syringe full of foul-smelling acid on the right guardian. The sound of wild electricity escaping their mechanical confines drowned the room in noise. As the red light atop the guardians' heads faded, their mechanical bodies fell forward with an alarming force. Lyrica and Cave both had to dodge out of the way of the falling machines, regrouping to enter the meeting room.

Before opening the doors, Cave said firmly, "No hesitation. This is the final battle in our quest to relinquish the Basilicom."

Everyone gave stoic nods and forced open the doors in unison, rushing inside the room. The first sound was that of a mechanical whir from two sentry turrets attached near the back of the room. Dozens of security cameras and display monitors lined the walls of the Basilicom like a hall of eyes. In the back of the room, concealed behind a large pane of thick glass was a women in business wear, black and blue skirt and blouse matching the streaks of black hair flowing down her shoulders.

"So, you've finally come. I don't know whether to be impressed or annoyed," said the woman through a speaker system set up outside the confines of her glass shell.

Pointing a single, slender finger at the woman, Compa said, "You're that mean dictator lady aren't you?"

"Mean? Dictator? Surely you're fooling yourself, look at how well I've maintained this fair nation!"

"You're not maintaining this nation, you're enslaving it!" shouted Lyrica.

Restrict shifted her eyes and attention to Lyrica, who showed no signs of hesitation. "Ah yes, the rebellious punk rock whelp that refused to cooperate during my uprising." All of the security cameras redirected their focus on Lyrica, zooming in with a rigid metallic whir. "How does it feel to have all eyes on you again?"

"You're done watching this nation, I'll see to that myself!" Lyrica replied.

"I've had enough of this banter, let's finish this," Cave sternly replied, dashing forward ahead of the others. A sudden jolt, followed by a shockwave from a falling object made Cave reel back. The black mass of machinery that left a gaping hole in the roof and cracks in the floor revealed itself to be a repaired 5URV3Y, his single glaring eye of red replaced by a spider-like array of red lenses. Arms fully repaired, hands replaced with plasma sickles, 5URV3Y was completely battle ready.

"Dammit. I thought Nepgear was supposed to be distracting this bucket of bolts," IF said under her breath.

"Stupid miscreant. You really think a poorly designed bug like that would distract me?" 5URV3Y uttered in his twisted voice. With a quick motion, he gave a signal to Restrict, who promptly locked the doors behind them.

Cave spared no time in attacking first, using her scissors to chip away at 5URV3Y's armor. Restrict opened fire with her laser turrets, aimlessly blanketing the field in laser fire. Compa was getting her health chipped away, her agility nowhere near high enough to dodge, and Lyrica couldn't get a large enough window of time to shock the turrets into submission.

"La Delphinus!" IF called once more, using the last of her SP to blind one of the turrets. It did little damage, but it gave Compa and Lyrica enough time to recover and go on offense. IF, turning her head to Lyrica for a split-second to shout, "Lyrica, hit it with-"

IF was slammed into a wall before she could finish, her breath knocked from her flattened lungs. The sheer force made it hard for her to recover.

Frozen with indecision, Lyrica struggled to decide whether to go help IF or disable the turret. Compa had only a few seconds to douse the turret in acid, but that wouldn't be enough to stop it.

"Lyrica, don't hestitate now!" shouted Cave, weaving in and out of laser patterns.

Snapped out of her daze, Lyrica raised her right hand and flung it powerfully across her guitar's strings. The vibration meshed with thunderous energy, making the life-saving shockwave that roared through the room. Monitors shattered, cameras flew from their mounts, and a large crack formed down the center of the glass shell that concealed Restrict.

Anything mechanical was forced offline for the moment, sparking electricity wildly. This was the chance Cave sought, a chance to rip some armor panelling off of 5URV3Y's chest. Scissors in hand, Cave clambered up the cold steel of 5URV3Y's legs and forced her blade through pistons, steel, and cords. Her strength alone wasn't enough to rend the plates from 5URV3Y, and she was running out of time.

"You really thought you could do this alone?" said a returning IF, refusing to let her injuries hinder her in the slightest.

"I suppose it was a silly assumption to make," replied Cave.

"On three!" IF shouted, readying her claw parallel to Cave's scissors. 5URV3Y's inner working began to hum and whir again, a slight jolt almost knocking IF off. Abruptly, IF cancelled her countdown and shouted, "Three!"

Using all of their strength, IF and Cave ripped off one of the chestplates, exposing a core unlike the ones they'd seen before. 5URV3Y's core was a black as Lastation, radiating an aura of corruption and vibrating with a dark resonance.

5URV3Y, quickly rising back up, swatted both of the girls to the side, heavily damaging them. "I've had enough of you insects," the machine said with annoyance laced in static. Both of 5URV3Y's sickles charged up, sparking a wild plasma from inside. Swinging twice with both in a flashy combo rendered Cave and IF paralyzed.

The sentry turrets were back online, and Compa's acid spray did little to damage its defenses.

"What a terrible squad, leaving your healer out in the open like that," commented Restrict, using her turrets to lacerate Compa. Superheated lasers ripped through cloth and flesh alike, forcing Compa down for the count with but a single HP to spare.

5URV3Y's red glare met Lyrica's dead stare. The heat of the lasers dancing next to Lyrica's feet meant nothing in the fatal frame she was locked in. "This can't b-be happening. It c-c-can't be..."

"You forget your place, child. You are the past, and we are the future. You are obsolete, and we have no room in our future for imperfections."

All the downcast words, all the bloody eyes, all of it froze Lyrica in a daze of failure. And thus rose 5URV3Y's blade, ready to carve the way to a better future.

({+|-^-|o})

Shredrix overheated quickly in my hands, spewing more gunfire than it wanted to. Hardly able to hold her, I held her forwards to catch the frenzied winds. The cooldown was only lessened by a little, but I took what I could get. The horde refused to let up, going as far as to ambush us outside of the tunnel. Chika was almost knocked off, but Nepgear's quick reactions saved her.

Slouched over with Shredrix now resting on the train's top, I asked in an air-deprived shout, "Everyone still doing alright?"

A few slow confirmations turned into quick battle alerts. Four more drones appeared to the side, spamming their lasers at us without a hint of accuracy. With discipline, I restrained my trigger finger from lighting up the sky with return fire. I had to resort to burst fire to keep Shredrix from overheating again.

"Okay, this is getting a bit old now!" Chika complained.

"You're welcome to join the fight, princess." I shouted over the roaring gunfire.

Chika's shocked expression was matched by her tense reply, "I would if I had a freakin' weapon!"

"You can try mouthing them to death!" replied Aksys.

The comic relief did little to wear down enemies, but the brisk laugh was refreshing, seeing that I spent most of the trip still trying to adjust to the g-force.

"Uh guys, the Basilicom is-"

Nepgear was stopped short by the impact of a laser barrage breaking skin and dealing damage.

Aksys used the last of her SP to cast another Heltic Nova, bringing down three of the worn-down drones. I finished off the last one with a well-placed headshot that counted towards bonus XP. The rush of the fight was still no match for the rush of being atop a speeding train, but I certainly could've done without the constant battling.

"The Basilicom is up ahead!" Nepgear stated with her finger pointed towards the distant structure of neon and steel. The whole thing look like somebody crumpled together a mess of bulky steel-girders, but it did give off a technologically advanced look using symmetrical architecture, simple geometric shapes colliding with a complex design. We approached from the western side of the Basilicom, with the back end of the building facing us.

I looked over to Nepgear and said, "Hack into the train's service terminal up front and hit the brakes!"

"You can't," shouted Chika, "the terminal was blown up upon us getting on this thing."

My eyes widened and I shouted in a voice that almost cracked, "You waited 'til _now_ to tell me that? How are we going to stop this thing to get off?"

With the train going over 120 mph, trying to jump off would destroy every bone in our fragile bodies. Nepgear still couldn't access HDD to get us safely over, and trying to use my axe to slow the train would just end up warping the blade to hell.

Grinning with glee, Aksys shouted, "Code! Code! I've got an idea!"

"Say it quick!"

Moving quickly to the front of the train, Aksys held her scythe's blade under the train and said, "Let's ride the train _into_ the Basilicom!"

Every one of us gained wide eyes and looks of genuine concern.

"Are you insane?!" I shouted to the high heavens.

With a smile that could make a psychologist piss themselves, Aksys said, "Yes I am!"

And with one might, two-handed push forward on her scythe, the sound of steel scraping on steel deafened us as Aksys quickly freed the train from its tracks. Inertia bridged the gap from the track to the Basilicom. And in that brief moment where I saw us in free motion, I shouted with my feet moving faster than the train, "Get in the train!"

({+|-^-|o})

An explosion of sound stopped 5URV3Y's fatal movement, forcing the machine to the floor as an earthquake of motion disturbed the very foundation the Basilicom rested on. Lyrica, also knocked to the ground, stared with wide eyes and her mouth gaping as a thirteen car train of steel came crashing through the back end of the basilicom, taking Restrict and her server terminal out in one fell swoop. The roaring noise of steel creaking and shrieking was only matched by the train's varied segments expanding the hole in the wall car by car.

With 5URV3Y distracted and the laser turrets disabled, Lyrica quickly used the only revive item she had with her.

Compa knew better than to say anything and bring 5URV3Y's attention back to them. The train started grinding to a halt, but in that short span of time Compa still had, she brought Cave and IF back to their feet in tandem, curing their paralyzation with the last remaining items she had.

"This is the end!" exclaimed Cave, thrusting her scissors deep into the black heart of 5URV3Y.

Circuits frayed and spat electricity, overloaded from the sudden surge of energy. The stiff metallic body suddenly fell flat, 5URV3Y struggling to raise his arms to expel his attacker. Static flooded his voice as he said in a faded death cry, "You cannot escape the future! This is not the end of our ideals, and this nation will fall without our future to guide it!"

"I've had enough of you," Cave uttered, slashing deeply into 5URV3Y's faltering helm. With a mighty tug with both arms, Cave single-handedly decapitated the drone, looking directly into its cold, dead lenses.

"You aren't the only one," remarked IF, stretching her sore limbs and popping a few jaded bones.

({+|-^-|o})

Pain surged through my whole body, with a few bruises, a couple scrapes, and possibly a broken bone or two. Crawling with what little energy remained in me, I managed up onto the floor of the Basilicom, plopping my weary body down without a care if there was enemies around or not. My vision gazed over to see our other four teammates gathered around a vanquished 5URV3Y.

Eyes spiraling in a dizzy fit, Nepgear crawled out with a few less injuries than me. "Goodness, that was a little way too much excitement for me. I think my heart stopped dead for a while there."

I added with a raspy, worn-out voice, "Let's never do that again. Ever."

And out came Aksys with a subtle twitch of the head, hardly an injury on her, skipping out with a smile that could warm an eskimo's heart. "That was soooooo fun! Let's do it again!"

Nepgear and I both shouted in unison, "No!"

"Have a wild ride?" asked Lyrica, striding over toward us like nothing big had happened.

Accepting a helping hand from Lyrica, I struggled to stand up. Inertia had my brain still going 120 miles an hour. "Well, I don't think I could call crashing a train through a steel building calming in any way."

With nothing to heal us, I had to ride out the pain, but to say it was pleasant would've been an outright lie. Nepgear was alright for the most part, which was what I was worried about. My mind could rest a little easier knowing that. It would rest even more easily if it could decelerate.

"My Basilicom!" despaired Chika, being the last to clamber out of the train.

"Uh, guys, I think we have one more problem before we can relax," IF stated, arms crossed as she headed to the hole where the train hung loosely inside.

"What is is Iffy?" asked Compa.

"Where's Restrict? She looked like she was hit by the train, so it's doubtful she lived, but we better find the body just in case. Last thing we want is for her to run around freely."

"Who cares?" asked the careless Chika. "My beloved Basilicom is trashed! Ruined! Lady Vert would have my head if she saw this!"

Nepgear, helped by Compa, said nervously, "I kinda agree with IF. We don't want her to possibly try to usurp power again."

"Think about this logically people," I interjected, "Bitch just got smacked and possibly crushed by a train going 120 miles per hour. Even if she did somehow live, she's limping. One of the Leanbox residents will find her trying to hobble away and report her in."

"Yeah! Bitch is down for the count!" Aksys cheered, taking a little too much from my words.

Unexpectedly, Compa butted in quickly with words of wisdom. "We can work on that once everyone's in good health again. We're all hurt very badly, we need medical attention immediately!"

IF rolled her eyes and said, "Fine. Guess I can't really argue with that. That was easily a raid-class mission."

Outside, a faint chorus of assorted voices could be heard. The voice praised and called for the new ruler of Leanbox. "Chika! Chika! Chika!"

"I think first, we should welcome in our new leader," said a returning Monty, standing at the steel doors that led to the Basilicom's main chamber. Cave quickly went over to hold him up, saying, "As much as it would be nice to heal our wounds, I agree that Chika should present herself to the populace."

Chika shook her despair away, wiping a single tear away from her still-young complexion. Straightening her body and stoically assuming a firm position, Chika marched with the rest of us behind her to the entrance of the Basilicom, stepping over chunks of debris and shifting through dust scattered by a creeping wind.

"Wear your battle wounds proudly everyone," said IF.

Compa, wearing a nonchalant smile, asked, "Iffy, are you trying to boost your ego again?"

"Maybe."

"Celestia knows it'll outshine her 'battle wounds'," I retorted.

The light of day blinded the ones that were confined to the fluorescent lights of the Basilicom, and even made me squint a little. A bright herald of a new day appeared, shining its rays down brilliantly while peeking in and out from newly formed clouds. People littered the streets in a disorganized mass, some sitting on deactivated drones and fallen street lights. The rest of us stood behind the new leader, some of us slouched in distress and some holding onto others for support. Chika stood proudly forward, dust lining some of her dress and her hair a little ruffled at the ends. Drops of sweat tried to hide from the public eye, while drops of blood tried to seep from tears in Chika's tight clothing.

"People of Leanbox!" Chika bellowed. The crowd silenced, all eyes going to the new ruler of Leanbox. "No longer are you to be watched every second of your lives. No more will the city be lined with these overbearing machines. As the people of the nation, you are to live in comfort in your homes, and I will assure you just that. This nation will stand free and proud once again as I, Chika, your beautiful, powerful leader, takes control once again!"

A roar from the crowd, lined with clapping throughout, had more energy than ever seen before in any other nation. Tears rolled down the faces of a few, and warm embraces could be seen as well.

"And as the first order of business," Chika continued, the crowd dying down just a little. "Is to have a mind-blowing concert from our long lost idol, 5pb.!"

I forced myself to stand on my own two feet, motioning her forward. "Don't hesitate," I whispered calmly.

"Hello people of Leanbox! Are you ready for some music?" Lyrica shouted to the crowd with vigor.

The crowd shouted back with even more vigor, voices ready to give from all the noise.

"I promise to put on one of the best concerts yet! Hope you'll like my new music!"

And with that final statement and that final roar from the crowd, the people of Leanbox dispersed, every one of them wearing a smile on their way down the street. Some of them even stayed behind to help clean up some of the deactivated drones.

"Ah, it's good to be back," said Chika to our broken group.

Lyrica, approaching Nepgear, Compa, Cave, and I, said with a watery eye, "Things are finally going to get better now..."

"No crying yet. You've got a concert to plan," I said to her.

"Let us get healed first. Our wounds are waiting far too long," Cave firmly said, departing into the depths of the Basilicom.

Chika's despairing expression returned as she shouted, "Is nobody going to help me get the train out of my Basilicom?!"

"All in due time," Cave replied with a slight smirk, "Oracle of Leanbox."

({+|-^-|o})

IF and the others had to go into the very depths of the Basilicom's basement to relocate where the medical supplies were moved to. Unfortunately for Compa, the Basilicom's medical wing was turned into a server room, resulting in using stored couches as makeshift medical tables. With the needed medical supplies, Compa, along with Cave and Lyrica in "training", restored everyone's HP to the fullest and then some. The sun disappeared into the horizon, marking the end of the day. Most of the troops, save for Cave, Lyrica, and I were still awake, despite us all needing to rest to get the most out of the medicine.

In the main chamber, Cave and I moved some of the large panes of broken glass to cover up the open hole made from the train. There was only one hole, seeing that the other one still had part of a train in it. Lyrica, standing off to the side innocently, said quietly, "I-I wish you guys would let me help..."

"Certainly you wouldn't want to injure your precious hands on the glass," Cave replied.

"I'm not a little kid or a klutz or a-anything like t-that!"

A single red eye from a nearby Chika popped open and, while trying to sleep on a sofa, said in an irritated voice, "Hey, keep it down! I'm trying to sleep!"

The now-shrivelled up Lyrica nervously said, "S-s-sorry! W-won't happen a-again!"

With the last mighty heave, Cave and I pinned up a trio of large glass panes against the hole, keeping out most of the night's wind. I looked to Lyrica, saying with a neutral expression. "Don't worry about it. You need to be at your utmost best for the concert tomorrow."

With that done, Cave announced that was going to go help some of the restless citizens clean up the broken drones scattered around the city. Claiming she couldn't sleep seemed quite like her.

"You should probably get to bed," I said to Lyrica.

"Actually, I-I was kinda hoping to talk to you..."

With that said, Lyrica led me outside to the stairs of the Basilicom, looking out to a long strip of war torn land, on its way to being restored. The night's wind eased up and a warmth blanketed the area.

After an awkward silence between the both of us, Lyrica spoke up. "It's really nice out. No curfews to keep us pent up inside. No red glares sending chills through our spines. It feels like Leanbox again."

"You can feel it in the air," I whispered spacily, "the tension's finally gone. It feels like the city can breathe again."

Another awkward silence was cast in the night, Lyrica finding it hard to say anything. Her voice grew a little louder when she said, "I-I'm really grateful that you helped us put Leanbox right."

"How could I have just looked away from this?" I asked, moving my absent gaze to her vibrating eyes that looked on the verge of crying. "I mean, you're my cousin. I couldn't just abandon you again."

She tried to form a smile, only managing a little crooked smirk. "I'm glad you didn't. We can finally catch up with each other, and hang out in the real Leanbox."

"And I can get to see my favorite cousin perform live," I said with a smile of my own.

"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

I was intrigued, but at the same time, worried.

"I...w-wanted y-y-you to perform with m-me..."

My eyes immediately widened from a sleepy lull to almost bugging out of my head. "Uh...what?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to! I would never force you to!" Lyrica shrunk, her voice firm but lowering in volume.

I really wasn't a fan of that idea. Fighting for a crowd at the Coliseum was one thing. Performing in front of a live audience, no less all of freakin' Leanbox was enough to make me lose my breath just thinking about it. But looking into those innocent purple eyes made it hard as hell to say no. She was family, she was looking at me with those pitiful eyes, she wore that shy and innocent look. All of that just made it harder to reject her invitation.

"Alright. But I pick the songs."

"Really? You know you don't have to do it if you don't want to."

I held up a hand of dismissal, saying firmly, "Just know I wouldn't do this for anyone else."

Her smile formed into a bright one, wearing a truly happy expression. "Thank you! Thank you so much! I can't wait!"

"You better get some sleep then, alright? I'll be heading to bed shortly myself."

Lyrica nodded firmly, saying as she rushed back into the Basilicom, "Okay! Good night Code!"

"Night," I said to her as she disappeared from sight. Looking down to the steel stairwell, I shook my head and said aloud, "Bloody hell, what've I gotten myself into? I'm gonna have a heart attack up there..."

({+|-^-|o})

Standing onstage with my back to an already gathering audience, I shielded my eyes with my hands to block out the descending sun. On the upper stage was Nepgear and Aksys, both trying to re-align the spotlights with a complacent audience watching. There was just a few early birds checking out what was going on.

"Is this good Code?" Nepgear shouted down to me.

Squinting my eyes and taking a step back, I shouted back, "I think you're good Nepgear."

"Well, what about mine? Am I good?" Aksys abruptly asked.

"Make yours parallel to Nepgear's."

"What does parallel mean?"

Closing my eyes, I lowered my head and shook it briefly, muttering quickly, "For the love of Celestia-"

"It means make yours align with mine, Aksys. Just move it to your left a little," said Nepgear. Upon Aksys moving the opposite direction, Nepgear continued, "Other left."

Once Aksys finally got her spotlight in the right position, I told her, "You're good, lock it in place."

Luckily, Aksys was intelligent enough to know how to lock it in place to the support beams. Then again, Cave instructed her how to do it in great detail. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw IF standing at the way leading backstage from the main stage. She held in her hand two plastic balls tied at opposite ends of a green banner.

"Hey, you guys wanna hang this banner up while you're up there?" asked IF.

Nepgear, looking over the side of the rails for the upper floor, she said to the grounded IF, "Sure, just throw one of the balls up here and another to Aksys."

With a good toss, IF threw one of the tether balls up to Nepgear, who caught it firmly with both hands and already started tying it around the hand rail for the upper floor.

Moving a little towards Aksys, who looked down with an excited gaze, IF tossed the other ball towards her, shouting, "Catch!"

With outstretched arms, Aksys readied herself to catch it. Her hands fumbled the moment she touched the ball, all of her fingers combined unable to keep a grip on the ball. She leaned forward, over the rails to try and reclaim the tethering ball. Before I could shout a warning, Aksys caught the ball and subsequently fell over the rail, her hands clasped onto that ball for dear life as gravity sent her swinging downwards on the banner. IF, without a split-second to move, only watched as Aksys come swinging right at her, colliding with a firm, quick thud that knocked IF all the way backstage with her. Aksys had let go of the ball just in time to keep the banner from tearing.

"What the goodness! Are you okay, IF?" shouted Nepgear.

"No. No I'm not," IF replied with a stern voice.

Rushing backstage, still able to hear the chuckles and giggles from the crowd gathering in front of the stage, I saw Aksys rubbing her head as she clambered off of the stunned IF.

IF looked at Aksys and asked firmly, "Are you sure you didn't swing on vines out in Castlescape at some point?"

Holding out my hand to IF, I said with a half-baked smile, "If anything, one could mistake her for a circus performer."

"A bad one at that. I don't recall circus performers taking out pedestrians during an act," IF said, grunting as she got up. Dusting off her jacket, she said, "I'll take care of it, would you kindly throw it up to me?"

"What if I say no?"

"What if you wake up tomorrow underwater?"

Aksys, reentering the conversation with stars in her eyes, gasped and asked with vigor, "Are we going scuba diving?"

I facepalmed and IF simply walked away, hanging her head down without saying a word in response. I grabbed the tethering ball and walked back out to the main stage while waiting for IF to get up to the top.

Behind me, a saddened Aksys asked, "Is that a no?"

Nepgear, leaning over the rails to see Aksys, said, "Maybe another time."

And with that, Aksys was gone and out of our hair, likely going to wreak havoc elsewhere. I threw the ball up to IF once she was in position, successfully catching it without going down like Aksys did. I walked out onto the front stage, starting to feel my heart pound a little bit with every ten extra people added to the crowd behind me. Looking up to the banner, styled in green with gold trim, it read, "Welcome back, Chika Hakazoki!"

"Looks good!" I shouted to IF. She gave me a thumbs up and went backstage again. I headed the same direction, going to meet Lyrica backstage. While she practiced, Cave set up the electrical equipment with Monty, who was still recovering from the fight. The stubborn assassin simply refused to 'lounge about while others worked'. Compa tried to get him to stand down, but he wouldn't listen.

Backstage was Chika, holding a clipboard with documents and the like. The woman looked a tad bloodshot in the eyes, and certainly didn't sound well-rested from the sounds of her inane mumbling. "Ah, you there-"

"My name is Code," I interrupted her.

"Right, Code. Did the banner get put up?"

With a thumb pointing over my shoulder, I told her, "In case you weren't listening to the commotion out there, we just got it put up."

"My, someone's irritable today," she commented.

Still holding my thumb over my shoulder, I asked her quickly, "You wanna go out there and sing in front of the whole nation?"

"Certainly not, someone has to organize this whole event! We certainly don't want a repeat of the last big concert Lyrica had," Chika stated, lowering her eyes back down to her clipboard.

Subtly shrugging, I uttered, "I don't even wanna know."

"It involved a really bad boy band getting boo'd off stage. The fans weren't exactly the right demographic for that sort of thing, they didn't care too much for boys," said an approaching Nepgear.

Upon hearing that, my eyes opened wider. A surge of worry flowed through my spine, and nervousness began to overtake me. "I...hadn't thought about that."

"But, but they won't likely boo you off! I mean, they shouldn't anyways, it's just you after all," Nepgear continued hastily.

Chika added more problems to the mix, stating, "I told Lyrica to inform the audience of your relation to her, they should get the picture well enough."

My mouth started to gape open with my widened eyes fixated on her and Nepgear. Nepgear's face formed into a sheepish grin while Chika nonchalantly read over her documents without a care in the world about what events were about to unfold. I said firmly with a raised voice, "Are you insane? If the crowd figures out we're related, the audience will want my head!"

A suddenly appearing Cave said coldly, as if playing perfectly into the sick event, "If that be the case, I can assure you proper protection from any harm."

I couldn't tell if Cave was playing along with the joke or legitimately serious about that. I was worried about either option. With my eyes wandering around frantically, I headed back to where Lyrica practiced on her guitar. Aksys was in there as well, trying to keep up with Lyrica's guitar playing.

"I just don't get how your fingers can move like that!" exclaimed Aksys.

Lyrica stopped playing for the moment, looking to Aksys and saying with a sweet smile, "Practice makes perfect."

Just as I'd expected, her personality did a 180 once she was preparing for a concert. All it took was some music and she turned just as chipper and energized as could be. Over in the corner, I could see a very familiar guitar sitting in the corner, the glossy black and blue finish gleaming in the fluorescent light.

"Code!" Lyrica greeted me, "You should come practice with me. Your old guitar is waiting for you."

I picked up the lightweight guitar, feeling a mixture of metal and wood sink into my sweaty palms. Loosening the strap, I draped it over my neck, the guitar hanging loosely, matching my stoic presence. "I really don't know about all this, I'm not gonna lie, I really don't think I can do this. I haven't played my guitar in years, let alone sing."

"Oh come on! Don't wimp out now, your lily rank will go down if you bail now!" Aksys said in a very meta fashion almost reminiscent of IF.

"I don't know if I'd go that far," said Lyrica, "but you should have more confidence in yourself. You'll be playing with me at your side, so I know you'll be okay!"

It was hard for me to say 'no' at that point, but the nervousness didn't fade that easily. I still had a million leaf butterflies fluttering around in my stomach. The feeling almost made me ill, knowing I'd be performing for possibly one of the biggest crowds ever before. Leanbox's entire population could be watching our performance, and me being so out of shape certainly didn't help, even if I was as natural a guitarist as Lyrica. Stage fright was probably the only status ailment I could compare to freezing.

Removing the pick from between the strings, I held onto it tightly. Looking down at the guitar, I felt overwhelmed with nostalgia. I shook my head, refocused, and said to Lyrica firmly, "Let's warm up with the first song. And go easy on me, I'm still rusty."

"Gotcha!"

The practice didn't get to continue for too long, but we got to work out some kinks before the show. Most of the songs were repurposed for both female and male leads, so even if I screwed up, Lyrica would be able to cover me. It was already getting close to night, where the lights would be the brightest and the echoes would carry across the sleeping city. I had some of the songs nailed down again, but others wouldn't be as easy. I still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling of being a performer for the concert. Not even the comfort of knowing that Nepgear would be up there as a backup singer helped me.

"Hey you two, it's time to get going," announced Chika, barging into the rehearsal room abruptly, "Make Leanbox proud!"

Lyrica was the first out, followed by Aksys complaining about how she wanted to be part of the concert. Just as I left with my Bender Wakizashi, Chika stopped me just to say, "Good luck out there. And remember, even if you screw up, you won't be the worst person I've sent out there!"

"Your words both worry me and comfort me at the same time. You are quite an odd person," I bluntly replied.

She returned an innocent smile like she was playing off what she had said. "I prefer the term 'unique'."

The mindless banter helped my resolve a little, but just hearing the enormous crowd from backstage still kept me a nervous wreck. I'd never before experienced such a firm, deep-seated worry.

Lyrica was the first to step out towards the roaring crowd, taking center stage with a bounce in her step, wearing her guitar proudly. At the mic, Lyrica said powerfully, "Hello Leanbox! Hope you're ready for an awesome show!"

The roar of the crowd was all the response Lyrica needed.

Continuing through the crowd's undying enthusiasm, Lyrica said, "I've got a whole bunch of new songs, and plenty of classics too. I've even brought some very special guests today. First up is the Planeptune CPU, and one of my closest friends, Nepgear!"

Lyrica's eyes and open hand aimed towards Nepgear was all the signal she needed to trot happily out to the stage. Taking the left mic, Nepgear swallowed her nervousness and, with a strong resolve, said, "Hello everyone! I'm not the best singer in the world, but I'm really thankful to be here, and I hope you enjoy the music!"

The crowd, remembering Nepgear from the last concert she was in many a year ago, cheered for her as well. It wasn't as loud as Lyrica's ear-drum bursting cry of fanaticism she often gained, but it was still a decent cheer.

"And second is someone very close to me, and someone just as talented! I'd like you all to give an encouraging cheer for my favorite cousin, Code Oprashunal!"

With my heart beating like a drum with double-bass pedals, I walked out with a slick, sweaty palm on my guitar. The spotlights were blinding, but I forced my eyes open to witness the hundreds of thousands of people gathered before the stage, all wearing a slight look of confusion mixed with curiosity.

"Cousin? 5pb. has relatives?"

"He looks a little nervous, but should we really cheer for him?"

"What gives? I thought this was a concert for us male otaku!"

The comments I was hearing weren't relieving in the least bit. As my heartbeat went faster and faster, time slowed more and more to a grinding halt as I froze before the mic with a hundred sweatbeads crawling down my skin. In a madness-inducing mantra, I repeated in my mind, "Compose yourself, be yourself, compose yourself, be yourself, compose yourself-"

Forcing myself to recklessness, I harshly threw aside my nervousness with abandon and shouted with an earnest smile, "Who's ready to freakin' rock?!"

A stunned crowd quickly returned to their cheering state, now clapping in unison. I gave a quick glance to Lyrica, who gave me a firm nod, and started to play, strumming the steel strings just like I had rehearsed. The nervousness no longer tried to compel me to a bad performance, but rather I was so focused on the song that I no longer felt the leering stare of the audience piercing through me.

"A warning to the people, the good and the evil...this is war...to the soldier, the civilian...the martyr, the victim..."

({+|-^-|o})

"Even when they're offline, these tin heaps are just unnerving..." commented Underling.

Pirachu, quickly bouncing across the deactivated machines, replied, "If you'd hurry up, we wouldn't have to linger around these things!"

"Hey, you're the one that's sticking around me! If I'm that damn slow, you can carry the hell on without me!" Underling shouted loudly, her voice bouncing through the empty steel rooms of the Leanbox Military Prison. She grumbled under her scattered breath, "Not like I need you anyways."

"Well I don't need you either, chu. But it's not like I have anywhere to go anyways."

Stepping over another offline drone cautiously, Underling thought aloud, "I wonder how those broads managed to shut these things down. That big drone looked stronger than Judge, probably was."

"Don't know, don't care, chu. All that matters is that we're getting out of this stupid jail," Pirachu said with a subtle shrug.

"You're just full of useless opinions, aren't you?"

"Hey, if you're expecting me to waste my breath dumping exposition, you can find someone else for that, chu!"

The two of them walked side by side down the dark halls of the Military Prison. Once the drones got shut down, the power did to the prison, due to it being connected directly to the Basilicom instead of to its own powerline. The backup generators kicked on a little later, which reactivated the plasma grids, but most of the captives were already free by then. The only reason Underling and Pirachu were still around was because they got lost in the halls looking for the way out.

Pirachu, opening the grand steel doors to the prison, stared not at an open sky. Instead, they looked directly at a steel train, crashed into the ground and blocking the way out, the moonlight reflecting off of the train's bent steel.

"What? How the hell did all the others get out if _this_ is in the way?" Underling shouted, not a soul on the outside to hear. Nobody walked the sidewalks and no cars traveled the streets, leaving the both of them stuck inside.

Pirachu slumped down to his thin knees and cried, "Are we...are we never going to escape, chu? Will I never get to reunite with my darling angel, Compa?"

Pushing on the broken steel mess, Underling said firmly, "Never mind your fantasies rat, help me push this thing!"

"Do I look like I have the strength to move a train?!"

"And you think I do? ASIC's gone, I've barely got the strength to get myself out of bed!"

"Someone back there?" asked a voice from the other side. It was a male voice, a bit deep and firm.

"Does it sound like there are people in here?! We aren't ghosts y'know!" Underling shot back.

Pirachu stood back up and quickly rushed to their captor, shouting through it, "Yes, there are people here that need saving! Help us please!"

Another male voice, higher-pitched like a teenage yet to hit puberty, said vulgarly, "why sh0uld w3 h3lp s0m3 r4nd0m5?"

"We'll help you out on one condition." the other voice shouted to them.

"Seriously?" Underling sighed to herself. Responding quickly, she said, "Name it."

"You join our clan, the Faith Breakers."

Pirachu looked up to Underling, stating seriously, "We probably should just go with it. We can leave 'em later if we need to."

"Guess it's better than nothing." replied Underling. She shouted again in an echoing voice that bounced through the halls, "We'll join, just get us out of here!"

"That's that then. Overkill, grab the left side and I'll grab the right."

Overkill sighed and said, "f1n3, wh473v3r..."

The deafening sound of the train's bottom scraping against the concrete left a stinging in everyone's ears. They couldn't pull the train too far on their own, but they at least got an opening available near the top of the dented-in train car. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Underling and Pirachu to escape.

Underling, scraping herself up a little crawling through the narrow space, made it outside, where she could finally smell fresh air again. Letting her tense body drop down before her rescuers, Underling said, "Could've given us a little more room."

"Be thankful they let us out at all, chu!" Pirachu replied harshly, easily squeezing out of the narrow hole with his tiny body. "So what are your names, chu?"

An orderly Headshot replied, "I am Headshot, the leader of the Faith Breakers. My friend here is Overkill. Welcome to the clan."

"I'm Pirachu, chumps. The rude one is Underling," Pirachu greeted crudely.

"I can introduce myself, y'know? And my name is not Underling!" Underling complained. Sighing and following the Faith Breakers as they begin to walk, she asked, "So what exactly do you guys do as a clan?"

Bluntly, Overkill said with a sudden vigor, "w3 hun7 cpu5 4 xp!"

"Hunting CPUs, huh? I think I like this clan already," Underling said, smirking to herself.

Headshot clarified with his gaze aimed back at the newest members, "Well, to be honest, we're aiming for that twig, Nepgear. The others will fall once that bitch is downed, same with her damned party."

"And that's all you do, chu? Sounds pretty boring," Pirachu said.

"Hey, I don't need noobs like you telling me how to run my own clan!" Headshot quickly shouted, "I've got a score to settle before we do anything else."

Underling said, still donning her scheming smirk, "You aren't the only one with a score to settle. And I think I have an idea on how to do just that..."

({+|-^-|o})

The crowd's roars faded to assorted conversations as the residents of Leanbox flocked back to their homes. The concert had ended an hour ago, but I still felt the lingering effects of the sudden fading of bravado as I left the stage. My heart felt like it was somewhere in my lower intestine and a sickly feeling overwhelmed me to the point of nausea. I sat limp on one of the crates in the backrooms, Nepgear and Aksys comforting me while I kept perfectly still.

"Get a little rattled?" asked Aksys.

"More than a little," I faintly replied.

Nepgear, refraining from touching me lest I projectile vomit, said with a calm voice, "I'm sure you'll overcome it soon enough. Take your time, the others are almost done cleaning up."

However, Aksys, feeling the need to comfort me her way, draped a casual arm around me and leaned on me to the point of almost shoving me off the crate. "Come on, where's that awesome rocker dude I saw earlier?"

With a hiccup and a deep belch, I said with a quiet voice, "He took a stage dive."

"Aksys, maybe you should give Code some space," said Nepgear.

Aksys, unable to read the atmosphere, or rather, anything at all, replied with an energetic smile, "Aww, but don't you know? A little love can cure anything!"

Nepgear, offering a laidback smile, replied, "Compa normally could attest to that, but this time, I think Code just needs some medicine. I'll go see if Compa can get something."

With Aksys unbearable clinginess suffocating my poor stomach, I had to pry myself away from her. "Okay now, I need a little room."

"Are you sure?" asked Aksys, wearing a disheartened frown.

"Yeah, I'll be okay. Just give me a little breathing room."

Returning promptly, Nepgear held a small pill and a little cup of water. "Compa says this should help for the moment. Lyrica said it was only a passing thing, but I'm not quite sure about that."

"I've been here for half an hour with my stomach debating on whether or not to flush the cargo hold. I think I'll take my chances with the medicine, even if it is from the mad scientist," I said, taking the cup and pill from Nepgear. I quickly downed the medicine, thanking her.

Taking another literal approach, Aksys asked, "Is Compa really a mad scientist?"

Nepgear shook her head, saying, "She's not really a mad scientist. At least, I hope she is isn't. I don't think she is. She just tends to mix up what medicine to give."

Chika approached us from further back in the backrooms. With vigor and delight, she said charismatically, "Wonderful performance out there you two. Shares will be booming from that performance!"

"Glad to hear it, Chika. I'm glad we could help," Nepgear said with a smile.

"I helped too..." Aksys pouted.

I gave her a pat on the head, acknowledging her assistance in a kindly manner.

Innocently smiling, Chika asked, "I don't suppose I can get you to help in one more thing though, could I?"

"Of course! We'd be glad to help!" Nepgear said instinctively.

"Normally I'd rely on the locals for this, but could you help fix the Basilicom and clear out all that junk Restrict left in the rooms?"

As I would expect, Nepgear and Aksys were both eager to assist. Chika looked down at me and asked if I was included with them. I said to her with the firmest voice I could muster, "I don't like to leave messes. Though I imagine someone will need to convince IF to call off the Spark search for just a little longer."

"Wonderful! I'll make some calls to get materials procured!" Chika said, enthusiastically rushing off with phone in hand. At least, I thought it was a phone. Looked like a tablet sort of thing, but I didn't know.

"And I can go talk to IF!" said Aksys, standing up abruptly enough to shake the crate we were sitting on.

I looked up to her with a half-smile and said, "I said 'convince', not 'annoy into submission'."

"Same thing," replied Aksys. After a very noticeable twitch, she looked to us both and said with a startling firmness that meshed with a very sinister aura, "but don't get too comfortable with each other while I'm gone, okay?"

The smile she wore did nothing to ward away the negative vibe that poured from her very being. That same aura vanished as she waltzed out in a cheerful strut. Once I knew she was gone, I looked over to Nepgear and said, "I just sensed something really dark there, and I know it wasn't my stomach."

"Okay, so I wasn't the only one that noticed something off," Nepgear thought aloud,"I hope that she was just messing with us."

At that point, my stomach was settled down enough that I could get up and get going back to the Basilicom. I figured that it was about time to make ourselves useful, seeing that the concert ended a long time ago and the others were already back at the Basilicom. Taking a breath of fresh, calm air, I walked side by side with Nepgear, looking up to the moon lingering high in the starry sky. As we walked, I would breath easy, letting the whole concert fade from mind. We walked knowing how to return to the nearby Basilicom, but we paid little attention to the quiet streets we walked through.

She remained fairly quiet, still donning her smile with an aloof gazed aimed upwards. With little else to watch but streetlights, she amused herself with the constellations hanging in a disorganized mesh within a dark blue sky. "I almost think that Leanbox is calmer than anywhere else now."

"The streets are quiet, not under any gazing eyes anymore. But the fight is far from over. There's still work to be done," I replied quietly.

Nepgear gave a soft giggle and said, "You almost sounded like IF a little."

I couldn't tell if she was joking or not at that point.

"I agree though. At least we can enjoy this little bit of peace for now though, right?" she continued.

"Yeah," I said with a small smile, "it's not a lot, but at least it's something of a reprieve."

({+|-^-|o})

In the Basilicom, with not a breeze fluttering inside, despite the holes in the walls, the warmth fought against the industrial-grade air-conditioning that Cave, Compa, and Monty set out to repair at the request of a 'dying' Chika. While those two worked on getting the Basilicom cooled again, IF and Lyrica cleared out some of the excess debris. One of the messes left behind was 5URV3Y's limp corpse, black plates hanging loosely from steel joints and rods. His chest was caved in slightly and missing a lot of plates, the black core inside still pulsing wildly but unable to power anything in the least.

"IF, should we try to move 5URV3Y out with the rest of the drones?" asked Lyrica, taking subtler jobs to at least keep occupied. Cave had insisted that she work on more songs and practice some of her existing ones, but Lyrica felt more inclined to help clean up the Basilicom some.

IF took a look down at the partially dismantled corpse, eyeing the pulsing core inside closely. She walked away from the control panel she was taking apart to look at 5URV3Y, inactive and still. "Don't take him out just yet. I want to look at something right quick."

Taking the cautious approach, Lyrica watched from a safe distance as IF clambered aboard the corpse. IF struggled to rip off the other chestplate, tearing at it with a brute strength. A creak and moan signalled the giving of the plate, IF finally ripping it off and throwing it aside. While Lyrica quickly discarded the plate, IF started to disconnect the rest of the cords going to the core.

"I don't like the looks of this," sighed IF, reaching her hand towards the core.

A returning Lyrica quickly shouted, "I wouldn't touch that!"

IF stopped and looked down at Lyrica, confused until she realized her mistake. "Good call, who knows what this thing is made of. Do you have something I can pull this out with?"

Quickly, Lyrica retrieved a couple of pieces of metal that could hold the orb until they could be sure it was safe to touch. Handing them to IF, she said, "P-please be careful."

"I'll be careful. Just need to get a better look at this...thing..." IF grunted and struggled, pulling hard at the securely fastened core. She forced it out too hard and accidentally flung it into the glass pane, shattering it and laying waste to the recently-cleaned floor. Luckily the orb was still inside, however the glass would need to be cleared out of the way first. "Of course that would happen," sighed IF.

"I'll clean it up. No problem," said Lyrica, retrieving the nearby broom and dust pan.

IF shied a little, stepping past some large shards of fractured glass to scoop up the dark orb. "Well that's an inconvenience."

"Dare I ask what is being an inconvenience?" asked an approaching Cave.

"Dare I ask why there's glass all over the floor?" asked the mildly inconvenienced Chika directly behind Cave.

IF brought the orb to them, avoiding the glass on the floor. Holding the pulsing orb the best she could with the pieces of metal, IF said, "Well, we found the last Spark we were looking for. At least, I'm fairly certain this is it. As it is now, though, I don't think I'll be putting it in the Sparkholder 'til we purge whatever Restrict put in this thing."

"Give it here," said Chika. IF reluctantly passed the piece of metal like a platter, careful not to upset the orb. Chika scrutinized the orb, coming to a well-educated deduction. "I have no idea what could've caused this. Then again, I'm not well versed in whatever black voodoo magic crap this is."

Pulling out one of her cell phones, IF said, "I"ll call Histoire, she's bound to know."

Cave assisted Lyrica with sweeping up some of the glass while IF made the call. After a brief conversation, IF hung up the phone, not losing her distraught expression. "Should've seen that coming. Looks like we'll be here in Leanbox for three days while Histoire compiles some needed research."

({+|-^-|o})

"What do you think? Does it sound like a good idea?" asked Nepgear.

Arms crossed, I stood in front of a pile of defunct UAVs, thinking for a moment about what to do. "It seems like it would be a good idea, but I worry that the others might be a little shaky on it."

Nepgear lowered her head, avoiding eye contact in a pitiful gaze to the floor. "I know. But I really want to at least try to do something. They might listen if it's me."

"I mean, it's certainly worth a shot. I doubt if Chika will have any problem with it."

"Let's ask."

With that said, we opened the doors to the Basilicom, assaulted with a truly bizarre stench coming from within. It smelt of burnt rubber and stagnant air, and it grew stronger the closer we got to the main hall where everyone was gathered. Once inside, I was almost to the point of nausea again. "What died in here?" I asked, approaching the reassembled group that somehow got split up every chapter.

"Seems like that A/C is still malfunctioning," Nepgear commented.

"Nevermind that," said IF, approaching the both of us quickly with a dark orb in hand, "Take a look at this and tell me what it looks like to you."

It took me a moment of gazing at the thing before it finally clicked. "You've gotta be kidding me," I uttered quietly.

"That's the last Spark!" said Nepgear, "Or, it was..."

"Well chief, what plans do you have to fix this one?" I asked bluntly.

"I don't," said IF, "Histoire might though. We're gonna have to wait-"

"Three days," I cut her off, rolling my eyes. "Figures as much."

Chika, butting in with a cheery expression, said with glee, "That should be plenty of time to fix my humble abode!"

I questioned just how much of an Oracle Chika really was, seeing that her attitude revolved around getting everyone else to fit in her agenda. Seeing her reminded me about Nepgear's request, prompting me to look at Nepgear and call for her attention.

"I can't believe how dark it is."

"Miss Nepgear," I called again.

"I wonder what could've caused this."

"Sis!"

Nepgear quickly looked over to me and said, "Oh, so sorry. What is it, Code?"

With a quick facepalm, I uttered, "You are quite a space case."

"I thought I was the spacecase?" asked Aksys.

"That has yet to change, though your IQ certainly has dropped in the past couple scenes," IF remarked.

Aksys gave an angry pout and walked away from the others, coming back over to cling to me like a needy child.

I said to Nepgear, "Tell Chika about your idea."

"Oh, right!" Nepgear said, looking towards Chika. "I wanted to propose an idea for the deactivated UAVs. If we could reprogram them, I'd like to give them to the other nations to help with monster control."

Chika's face was hard to read. She didn't seem too interested, but didn't seem like she had anything against such an idea. "Well, not like I can say 'no'. They aren't even mine to begin with! Go ahead and do what you want with them."

"Right," Nepgear said with a firm nod. "First thing's first, I need to call the other CPUs to have them meet up here in Leanbox."

I questioned how the other CPUs would take to a sudden rally call to Leanbox, especially with the distance being so great. I could only hope that the Oracles could take over in their absence as well.

"Code, could you help us move 5URV3Y out with the others?" Cave asked quietly. IF and Nepgear both crowded around 5URV3Y with Cave going to join them. I took position near one of its legs and lifted up on the count of three. It was a tight squeeze getting him through the door frames. His absurd weight didn't help the matter any, but at least with him out of the way, there'd be more walking room in the Basilicom's meeting chamber. The night was still pretty young, so a lot of us were still well awake.

The next thing Chika wanted done was to get the glass out while she stored the darkened Spark in the Basilicom vault. There were still pieces of glass scattered around the floor, and parts of the glass shell they made up still rested, attached to the walls. Cave and Monty took up removing the still attached glass, while the rest of us sweeped up the mess. The more people working on the project meant it would get done quicker. While most of us swept up glass shards into a dust pan, IF was stealthily trying a different approach.

Nepgear and Aksys sweeping with Compa and Lyrica manning the dust pans left me to work with IF. As I watched her innocently start trying to sweep the glass out of the hole in the Basilicom, I smirked and asked, "Get tired of doing things the reasonable way?"

"I prefer practical over reasonable," IF retorted. As much as I wanted to be the moral compass, I pretended not to see anything and went about sweeping up some of the glass into a pile I would tend to myself. That and I didn't want to be guilty by association when IF gets caught.

Thanks to IF's tactic, we got twice as much cleaned by the time all the glass was disposed of. Nepgear even went as far as to comment, "Goodness, you guys sure got a lot more done than us."

"There was even more of us than you, but you still did it faster," said Lyrica.

Aksys, being the twitchy oddball as usual, happened to look towards the hole leading outside to the alleyways surrounding the Basilicom. She stated casually, "They didn't really take care of it. They just swept it outside."

Immediately everyone went over to the hole, where a large pile of sharp, reflective glass sat, blockading the alleyway. Compa immediately turned on her moral compass, saying to IF firmly, "Bad Iffy! That's littering!"

"Its an alleyway! Nobody goes through them anyways!" IF replied in her defense.

I had my pile taken care of properly, stating to the others, "I had no part in this scheme. This was entirely of her own fabrication."

Nepgear and Aksys both helped clean up the remnants of IF's mess, going on to help move the desks and chairs back up inside from the storage room. while most everyone worked on getting the meeting room back in order, Chika devoted herself to her own project. That is to say, she was more interested in getting the server racks out of Vert's chamber. Nepgear warned her not to damage the servers, seeing that they could still be used for the UAVs later. By the time the meeting chamber looked back to normal and Vert's chamber was cleaned out, we were all exhausted. Chika and Cave chose to stay back at the Basilicom while the rest of us, Monty included, chose to sleep at the inn further down the street.

Having been the 'heroes of Leanbox', we got free stayings at the inn. The innkeeper even claimed to know Monty from some happenchance adventure years ago. I didn't pry for details, going up to my room to get some sleep. It was a simple room of green and white, matching just about every damn thing in the city. The green neon and steel walls were decorated in part by ornate decorations of blocky steel. I went to sleep hearing the soft hum of the A/C that worked a lot better than the Basilicom's.

({+|-^-|o})

"So what exactly is this plan of yours?" asked Headshot, toting around his weapon for all to see. Underling still disliked when he just waved his shotgun around anywhere he wanted.

Clambering aboard the pile of UAV corpses, Underling could see 5URV3Y's body atop the whole thing. Once atop, Underling looked inside and cursed. "Dammit, we were too late. I was going to take the core and use it for a Share-sapping weapon, but it looks like the broads beat us to it."

"700 84d n0w l375 60 h0m3..." Overkill remarked, ready to fall asleep on the spot. The four of them had been trekking around for several hours. It was somewhere around three in the morning at that time.

"Quit your whining," Underling shot back.

Pirachu, lagging behind the others, fell over himself in a defeated display of exhaustion, saying, "I'm with loud-mouth, chu. I could use a mouse-nap right now."

"Probably wouldn't hurt to head home. We can go over some other ideas there while the lightweights sleep," Headshot said, giving a mean glare at Overkill and Pirachu.

"Just where is your place anyways? It better not be far from here," said Underling.

Headshot knew the way like the back of his hand. He really didn't live far from the Basilicom, a fact he now resented. "It's not far. Just curious, do you have any other plans?"

"Got one, but we can't do it tonight. Too dark to see," said Underling.

"Guess that works," Headshot finished, walking the squad to his aged home. Untouched as it was for many years, it was still pretty well preserved. The inside was quiet and a bit drab save for some limited edition games scattered around on some shelves.

Underling immediately took up one of the stained couches, vanilla in color. The outside was steel in color and design, but the inside was painted a dull black color. "Smells like a flat energy drink in here."

Headshot gave a quiet chuckle and said, "Yeah, it's a little stagnant in here. It's been, what, seven years?"

"480u7 7ha7 l0n6..." said Overkill, on the verge of sleeping in his large recliner. Both of his weapons rested by his sides, sleeping on the dusty floor.

Despite having four people in it, the house still seemed lonely and quiet. Hardly a sound could be heard from outside, and seeing that two of them had already passed out by then, it was just as quiet inside. Underling wasn't one for small talk and Headshot was stuck reminiscing by himself.

"So what, are you one of those people without any parents like some cliche anime character?" Underling asked harshly.

The words hardly fazed Headshot. Still in an airy, aloof mood, he replied, "I have parents, but I haven't a clue where they went. They were great warriors that were sent on a long journey to vanquish a great evil, or some cliche crap like that. Needless to say, they didn't come back."

"And for loud-mouth?"

"His parents disowned him. Technically he could go back if he really wanted to, but he prefers being around me."

"Hmph. It's like we live in a world of freakin' cliches and tropes," Underling remarked.

Headshot laughed and replied, "Well we _do_ live in a world based on video games."

By that point, Underling stopped caring and promptly fell asleep. Headshot wasn't bothered by that, even though he wanted to discuss some plans with her. Looking over at an old picture frame, he saw a photo of his parents, Overkill's parents, and Overdrive's father all hanging out with the Faith Breakers all gathered at the bottom. The picture almost seemed forlorn and nostalgic for all the wrong reasons, but he said to himself firmly, "I'll prove we're better than you ever were. We'll be the strongest there ever was."

({+|-^-|o})

When I woke up, I was well past sweaty. Salty drops fell from my face, despite the A/C still blowing a cold air into the room. I couldn't remember what I had dreamt about, but it didn't seem like anything pleasant for me to break into a sweat in my sleep. Grabbing a towel from the bathroom and cleaning myself off a little, I put on my hoodie that managed to magically repair itself every chapter due to plot convenience. Grindrix rested quietly against the side of the bed, waiting to be holstered along my back. I picked her cold handle up with a sweaty grip and slid her comfortably into the holster.

The others seemed to have either already left or were elsewhere at the inn. I checked down at the bar where Aksys and Lyrica both sat and conversed happily. Aksys was going on about how much she loved root beer while Lyrica just listened attentively. It was smile-inducing to say the least. Outside, I took in the hot air with regret, breathing in a good amount of humidity in the process. The heat almost drove me to remove my hoodie, but it wasn't unbearable yet. I could hear the scraping of steel, making me think that someone was moving more metal around. In the distance though, I saw Monty and IF duking it out in a secluded courtyard further away.

"What have we going on here?" I asked myself, watching the fight for a few minutes. Nobody else was around to watch them. That or they didn't even know the courtyard was there in the first place. It was only accessible by alleyway from what I could tell.

Monty, quickly hopping over IF's rapid strikes, jabbed her in the back with just his fist. IF fell down, the wind knocked out of her quickly.

"I think you hit her right in the pride," I commented, approaching the two of them.

Monty said not a word, but IF replied with a harsh breath, "You wanna be next?"

"What exactly are you doing out here anyways?" I asked.

"IF has requested some more formal training while the others prepared for construction today," Monty replied, lowering his white hood from the strange robe-like garment he wore.

"He means he's giving himself some relevance to the plot," IF remarked.

Monty swiftly struck her again, knocking the wind out of her.

"Easy on her, leave some ego for later," I finished, walking away to head to the Basilicom.

In the distance, I could hear Monty instructing her in a cryptic sense, "You need to stop letting your mind guide you. It cannot keep up. Act with instinct in combat."

At the Basilicom, Cave greeted me with Compa right behind. "It's good to see you're awake. We've been waiting warmly for you."

Compa gave a quick smile and said, "Something's still wrong with the A/C."

As such, it looked like everyone shed any extra clothes due to the heat. Save for myself, of course. Being heat-resistant had some benefits, one of which being a +15% resistance to fire attacks.

"I must say, I'm astounded you can wear heavy clothing in this heat," Cave remarked.

"I love warmth. I can handle hot temperatures a lot better than cold," I replied with a gentle shrug, "So, let me guess, moving the train out is the first priority?"

"Normally it would be, but we're waiting for Aksys to show up," Nepgear replied as she approached us. From the grease streaks and sweat drops across her skin, I could only imagine that she was trying to dismantle the train to make it easier to move.

Chika, taking a minute to quit complaining about the unbearable heat, loudly griped, "That and she's responsible for putting the thing here in the first place!"

"Should've had her come with me from the inn," I remarked to myself. "Can't you just call her?"

Compa, once again smiling, said, "She doesn't have a phone, and we haven't had the time to get her one."

I should've expected as much. I didn't feel like running all the way back to the inn, but seeing that Chika was acting like she was going to die of heatstroke and the others were working on the train, that left me to do it. "Suppose I'll go get her."

"I shall accompany you," said Cave with a stoic voice.

"Don't you need to work on fixing the A/C?"

"It can wait. It certainly isn't as bad as Chika is making it out to be."

"I had a feeling she was just complaining to complain," I grumbled, "Well, let's go then."

"Hurry back!" said Nepgear cheerfully.

Looking back, I waved to the cheerful Nepgear, who obediently went back to scrapping the trains. "She's in an awfully chipper mood for being put to slave labor."

"I believe she mentioned wanting to work on the drones once the train was dealt with."

That certainly would explain the good mood. As we headed back outside into the hot sun, I could practically see the heat radiating off the streets and sidewalks. The pile of UAVs still sat off to the side, waiting to be dealt with. If it got any hotter, I worried that they'd melt into the sidewalk. "By the way, seeing that you would probably know the most about this, just where did Restrict get 5URV3Y?"

Cave took a moment to recall what Restrict had told her regarding the giant mech. "I recall Restrict mentioning that she got the machine from the graveyard of a giant mech war. Originally there were many different kinds of the mechs, based off of different types of planes and aircraft, but there weren't any blueprints anything except the bomber. They also required pilots, but Restrict replaced the cockpit with an AI."

It certainly sounded like something out of a science fiction book, but since I saw the machine myself, I wouldn't rule out anything. While we walked down the calm sidewalk, seeing the occasional citizen of Leanbox along the way, I checked out some of the shops that were along the way. There were mainly service-based shops, like cell-phone shops, restaurants, and even game-rental stores.

Along the way I saw a fancy-looking crepe shop, not too unlike the one Cave was looking up a while ago. I looked to her with a mischievous smile and asked, "Still want to go to the crepe shop?"

"I'm interested in no such thing," Cave firmly replied.

"Sure you aren't," I thought to myself. We had reached the inn, brushed by a breeze of cold air as we opened the doors. It was nice to finally feel some A/C, but of course, that wasn't why we were there. Still sitting at the bar was Lyrica and Aksys, blissfully unaware of the world as they calmingly engaged in idle chit-chat, just as they were before. Both of them were unsupervised, the bartender absent for whatever reason.

I approached the two of them, greeting both of the girls warmly. Cave followed, doing the same.

"Hello Code. It's good to see you're feeling better," said Lyrica. "I didn't get to tell you yesterday, but I thought you did a really good job on stage."

Before I could reply, Aksys abruptly asked, "Hey Code, I got something for you!"

That phrase alone struck fear in my heart.

She plucked an unopened bottle from the bar and handed it to me. At first, I was ready to be very enthralled, but when I realized that she handed me root beer and not sarsaparilla, I cancelled said excitement. "Lyrica told me you liked root beer a lot, so I got you some!"

As much as I wanted to correct her, I simply couldn't. I wasn't going to say a word about it. I was able to smile and say, "Thank you!"

Aksys wore such a warm smile that I doubted I could correct her even if I wanted to at that point. Regardless, I did still like root beer, I had no distaste for it at all. I certainly didn't hesitate to crack it open and down a couple gulps of it. "Now, if you wouldn't mind, would you come with us back to the Basilicom? We could use your help with moving the train."

"But, but it's hot in there!" Aksys shot back. Lyrica gave a soft giggle at her response.

"Come on, for me?"

"Okay..." Aksys submitted reluctantly, hopping up from the barstool and taking place behind me.

"You're welcome to come with us," I said to Lyrica. She wasn't as hard to convince than Aksys. With the four of us gathered, we left the inn, thanking the nearby innkeeper as we left. On cue, the moment the sun's rays hit Aksys, she started to complain. I couldn't quite tell if it was hot or not, being heat-resistant made it hard to gauge how honestly warm it was.

The streets started to fill up a little more, some people walking in and out of shops, some handing out fliers, and some sweeping up their entrances. We neared a quaint little shop of seemingly odd beige and dark brown colors called the Troubled Witch. If anything, it sort of reminded me of a coffee shop. The colors were certainly strange and out-of-place in the green neon Leanbox. As we approached, a girl with pointy ears, long blond hair, and a pumpkin on her head stood outside, sweeping off the entrance to her store. The girl, upon seeing Cave, waved cheerfully.

"H-Hello Cave. It's a pleasure to see you again," the odd girl greeted.

Cave, unreadable as ever and wearing a neutral expression, greeted calmly, "Hello Summer. It's a pleasure to see you as well."

"A friend?" asked Aksys.

"Cave usually buys her bullet hell games here," said Lyrica.

Summer, oblivious to our concealed conversation, continued talking to Cave in a polite, almost shy manner. She would ask what releases Cave had on pre-order, while Cave would ask how the shop's business was doing. There apparently was a recent increase in new titles for the genre, so Summer was getting good business.

The brief conversation came to an end, and through the summer heat we marched back into the somewhat-cooled Basilicom. From the feel of the air, someone got the A/C working to an extent.

"Welcome back!" greeted Compa, "Ready to start moving the train?"

"Ready as we'll ever be. Come on Aksys, time to clean up our mess," I said to Aksys, bearing a nonchalant smile as I set aside my root beer for the moment on a nearby table.

Despite her resistance to manual labor, she wore a similar smile and a positive attitude to match. "Ready and willing!"

I approached the 'busy' Chika and asked, "Alright, so how are we going to do this?"

"Isn't it your job to figure that stuff out?" asked Chika.

"Guess we aren't getting that train out then," I shot back.

Chika's cooperation quickly returned after that. "From what I understand, Nepgear has the train cars disconnect for removal below. She's going to handle the outside lifting in her HDD while you, Aksys, and Cave help push it out."

I moved into place, planting my body firmly against one edge of the train car's warm steel. Aksys took the other side and Cave took the middle. "Nepgear, are you ready?" I shouted to the other side of the wall.

"Ready!" she replied.

"One, two, three!"

The ear-piercing screech of metal grinding on metal lasted for a full minute before our progress was impeded. The car was stuck on something and would barely budge. Nepgear, on the other side, asked, "What's wrong? Do you need a break?"

"It's stuck!" shouted Aksys.

"Aksys, see if you can wedge it out with your scythe," Nepgear replied.

Cave and I moved out of the way to let Aksys brutally cut into the bottom part of the train, piercing through it just before dislodging it slightly. Cave, taking position again, said, "One last push should free it."

And on the count of three, we put all of our strength into a powerful shove that finally dislocated the train car. And on the other side of the hole, Nepgear was suddenly thrust downwards by the heavy metal, flat on the ground in less than a second.

"You guys sure know how to make a racket. I could hear you from the inn," said an approaching IF.

"It seems that we missed all the fun," said Monty.

As I looked out through the hole, I saw where a small truck came by with a crane attached to the back end. A small, disgruntled man with a short brown beard and a trucker cap attached some kind of magnetic wheels to the bottom of the train, hauling it away swiftly. "Why didn't we just use that in the first place?" I asked Chika.

"It was too big assembled together. Someone had to get it taken apart and hauled away piece by piece," Chika replied. Just as she finished, the Basilicom door flung opened with a loud thud. Standing just behind IF and Monty was a large squad of very small humans, all grinning like idiots as they hauled in a bunch of strange machinery. They were only about one-fourth the size of an average human. "Oh good, they're here!" Chika cheered.

"They're adorable!" Compa loudly stated.

"They're strange!" IF shot back.

"I wanna drop kick one. Can I? Please?" asked Aksys.

"Aksys, drop kicking things is bad," Compa replied.

One of the little foreman approached Chika, saluting to her without a word said before moving several pounds of steel and strange machines into the room. Chika was quick to usher us out, closing the doors behind her to leave the little men to their work. "This hopefully won't take too long. I mean, it's only two holes this time."

"This time? This has happened before?" IF asked.

"W-We t-try not to bring it up..." Lyrica said shyly.

Cave donned her sly smile and said mischieviously, "Ah, yes, I recall that incident. I believe it had something to do with Lyrica and pyrotechnics-"

Quickly, Lyrica interrupted her, saying rapidly with a shaky voice, "Cave, st-stop! That's enough, pl-please no more!"

Most of us laughed, save for Lyrica. An abrupt rattling noise came from the pile of UAVs sitting aside, Nepgear innocently stopped atop them with a sheepish grin.

"I take it you're ready to start playing with the machines again?" I asked.

Nepgear nodded and said, "Always!"

"Is it even safe to reactivate them? What if they just start attacking people again?" asked Lyrica.

"There'd be no way. Well, no way that I know of. The servers feeding them information should be offline, meaning when they activate, it'll be just like setting a computer to factory defaults."

Upon an unsettling moment of silence, everyone, once again, questioned Nepgear's sanity.

"Alright everyone, give the screwball some space," IF humorously corralled everyone away from Nepgear, most of us picking assorted spots on the Basilicom stairs. It was a little after midday, and the heat started to try and pick up. Already, my brown hair was growing soaked from sweat and I had been tempted more than once to remove my hoodie.

"Cody, you really shouldn't wear a hoodie like that in such hot weather. You'll get heatstroke like that," Compa innocently suggested, tugging softly on my hoodie.

I normally didn't like to take it off, it being one of my various defining traits, but even though I couldn't feel the heat really, there was still a chance I could actually suffer heatstroke. I took Grindrix out of her holster embedded in the hoodie and set her aside. Taking the bottom rim of the doused hoodie, I started to lift up cautiously.

"Here, let me help!" Aksys insisted much quicker than I could say no. She was already pulling up both my hoodie and my shirt with it forcefully.

While I was being forcefully undressed, I kept shouting to Aksys, "Stop! Stop! You're pulling up too much!"

By the time I managed to force back down, IF and Compa both started giggling while Aksys held onto my hoodie wearing a look of sheer confusion. My worries were realized when IF asked, "Was that a tattoo on your back?"

"Oh no, no, no..."

IF quickly lifted up the back of my shirt, leading to my multiple complaints. Nepgear was completely oblivious to the whole scene thankfully. Holding up the back end of my shirt for everyone to see, she read it aloud with a giggle, "I am the Great Cornholio!"

"Who's Cornholio?" asked Aksys.

"More importantly," said IF, finally lowering my shirt, "what on Gamindustry compelled you to get a tattoo like that?"

Holding my head in my hands, I said with a despairing voice, "Look, it was a long night. I wasn't exactly in the right state of my mind, my friend came up with the idea. Mistakes were made."

Much to my luck, Nepgear made enough noise with one of her revived UAVs to draw attention from my youth-years blunder. No doubt the showcasing of that would cause me grief in the future, but at least the topic was dropped for the moment. Some of the Leanbox citizens looked in fear as the drone reactivated, keeping away from us for the moment.

"That's cool, but can they do anything?" asked Chika.

Lyrica was very wary of the revived machine, shying away towards Cave. I kept Grindrix as close as Lyrica and Aksys in case that thing went berserk. IF and Compa were a little less leery, likely because they knew they'd have no problem against a single drone something were to happen.

Nepgear took out her N-Gear and used an odd plug to connect the UAV and her N-Gear together. While she fiddled with the N-Gear, her aloof eyes watching the screen, she began thinking aloud in a cryptic fashion. "Alright, I just need to figure out how to re-align the servos, recalibrate the suspension, and release the joint locks. That should get this machine up and going."

Unable to contain her curiosity, Aksys quickly went over to Nepgear, standing very close to observe what Nepgear was doing. "Oh, you can control it with the little screen thingy?" asked Aksys.

"Yes. I can assume direct control using this."

Aksys's eyes glowed with excitement and her mouth gaped as she asked the startled Nepgear, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I would have no idea," Nepgear brutally replied.

"Mech battle!" Aksys called to the heavens, excitement brimming in her echoing voice.

"As cool as that would be, I don't think they're quite in shape yet to be doing that. We don't even know which ones work and which ones don't."

Picking up Grindrix, I sat up and, while walking to Nepgear, said, "Well, only one way to find out. Let's dig in."

Immediately, Aksys decided to join in, helping us move the bodies into a single line for Nepgear to reactivate one-by-one.

"While I did approve of the idea, do you really need to be doing this at the Basilicom's doorstep?" asked Chika.

"Not like we can go inside. You ushered us out here yourself," IF replied.

"Besides, once Ge-Ge gets started, she gets all space-casey and doesn't listen as much. It's best just to let her do her thing," Compa added.

"Hey, IF, wanna give us a hand over here?" I shouted towards the lounging rogue.

"Not really. I'd rather not mess with those things."

Aksys quickly shouted in response, "Come on, you know you want to!"

Sighing deeply and hanging her head, IF uttered under her breath, "I know I won't hear the end of it until I help."

"By the way," I looked over at Nepgear, "did the other CPUs call back?"

Nepgear, wearing a bright smile, said cheerily, "Yes! They'll all be here tomorrow!"

"That's...actually really surprising. They all agreed to it so willingly?" asked Lyrica.

"And they can really get here in a day?" I asked.

"They've done it before. They used to run around Gamindustry all the time. I mean, we got here to Leanbox in about a day," said IF.

I couldn't quite argue with her on that. While helping lift another drone corpse, I thought aloud, "Makes sense, but why would they, the most important people to their nations, be so willing to depart from their nations for some drones?"

"They aren't coming just for drones. They're probably gonna try to net some shares here as well," said Chika.

"And you don't mind that?"

"Hardly, I have confidence that my shares will stabilize after a period of time. Just as long as the nation has _something_ to believe in, I think it will be fine," Chika said without a hint of hesitation. Seeing her speak so quickly without hesitation led me to think that things really would be okay. As whimsical as she seemed sometimes, something led me to believe she truly knew what she was doing.

({+|-^-|o})

"17 15 w44444yyyyy 700 h07 4 7h15 cr4p!11!" Overkill shouted with his usual, annoying voice.

"Keep it down idiot!" Underling shot back in a harsh but sharp whisper.

Pirachu, leaping over a pile of debris, sat down and watched the others trek through the piles of scattered steel debris. He claimed that the only reason he was following with them was because he knew where the abandoned ASIC factory was, but in reality, he wanted to 'supervise' Underling.

"This had better be worth it, I'll say that much," Headshot stated with chagrin. He had to peel off his armor and leave it at home, same with Overkill. It was simply too hot to don their armor, revealing the Hoop: Reach and Cogs of Battle 3 shirts Headshot and Overkill wore respectively. As they were, they almost looked like normal teenage guys.

The four of them had to move aside a large pair of support beams that had fallen in front of the way to the basement. Most of the walls were rusted and dyed sickly colors from the years that had passed. Underling had no intention of staying long, predicting that the place would crumble in on itself at any minute.

Gazing down the pitch black stairwell, Pirachu asked, "Anyone got a light, chu?"

Pulling out a yellow, dual-screen handheld, Underling used the light to help guide the way. Despite that, Overkill and Headshot both frequently tripped over fallen pipes and broken crates, swearing up a storm every time.

Using his hands along the wall to guide himself, Headshot felt a sharp pinch in his hand. Realizing he had just jabbed his hand on a broken, rusty fence, he remarked, "Gonna need a tetanus shot after this."

Underling led them into a room containing old computers and file cabinets, along with some assembly equipment. Using her light, she was able to spot an old safe tucked away under a desk. A mighty heave from the weak Underling forced it out of hiding, making it easy to read the combination dial.

"Do you even remember the combination, chump?" asked Pirachu.

"Of course I do!" Underling returned, hastily moving the dial back and forth. A metallic click echoed through the room, Underling swinging the door open. Inside was a package of discs, labeled crudely as 'confidential material'.

Headshot quickly swiped the package and asked, "So what, we just go topside, put these in a console and a monster will come out of it?"

"No!" Underling shouted, stealing back the discs, "You break them on the ground and the monster comes out. And we're waiting for night, best to hit the town while it sleeps."

"m4k35 53n53" said Overkill.

"It's only five o' clock, what are we going to do 'til night?" asked Headshot.

The crowd followed the stairs back upward, metal moaning with every step. The rapidly ascending Pirachu said, "Wouldn't hurt to scout the city, chu. Find the best spot and all, chump."

"Are you insane, rat?" Underling harshly shot back, "If the CPUs see us walking around in plain daylight, we'll be kicked out in a flash, and as much as I'd love to beat the hell out of them, attacking them in plain daylight is freakin' suicide. We were lucky to get here without being spotted!"

"Do you have any better ideas?" asked Headshot.

Standing a bit farther away, watching the other two Faith Breakers approach, Pirachu thought up a simple idea. "How often has the twerp brigade seen you two without your armor on, chu?"

"n07 0nc3"

Underling caught on quick and said, "Dudes, you both can get the drop on them! They don't know what you look like without the armor on, you'll be a pair of faces in the crowd!"

"As much as we dislike being without protection, you have a point. We'll do the scouting, but you two need to keep scouting for more disks somewhere else," Headshot said, standing before the broken door leading back outside.

Underling grumbled to herself for a moment, standing hesitantly beside the same door. Finally, she said, "Fine! I think I know a few places ASIC stashed the discs. We'll meet back at your place somewhere around eight, taken we don't get spotted."

Headshot replied firmly, "Roger that. Let's move out!"

({+|-^-|o})

It was around late afternoon and we were still waiting on the little creatures to finish working on the holes. IF had snuck around the alleyway to see how they were progressing, only to find that they were stopped dead, lacking the materials to continue. Chika, upon hearing this, sighed and recognized herself at fault for not checking on them, seeing that the little creatures don't inform their superiors about that sort of thing. Or anything for that matter. Unfortunately, that left us to go pick up some metal from their workshop near the school. It was a few platforms away, but otherwise wasn't too far. Most of us went, but Monty stayed behind due to not being needed by the plot for the moment.

"Remind me again why we're doing dirty work for the little bastards," IF sighed.

"It was just explained a few lines above why we're doing this, pay attention," Chika replied.

The school appeared farther ahead, meaning we were to turn left once we were at it. The workshop was a few blocks down from there. Passing by the elegant school, I admired the glistening fountains and well-groomed hedges and gardens lining the entrance up to the main building. "Bet that cost a pretty penny," I remarked.

Eagerly, Chika replied in a heightened voice full of veal, "Leanbox, and more specifically, my dear Vert, takes great pride in the education of our youths! We want them to have the best possible education so they can become great workers for the Leanbox cause!"

"I-It's a very nice school. I've performed in the auditorium a couple times," Lyrica added.

"I recall you talking to me about that once," I said, calling back to that memory from some-odd years ago, "didn't one of the little munchkins look up your skirt near the end?"

Lyrica didn't even bother to reply, instead just shying away with a distressed look on her face.

"Have you ever considered teaching there before?" Nepgear asked Lyrica.

"I have the feeling few things would be taught, what with a pop idol in the room," I replied.

Regaining her voice, Lyrica nodded and said, "I d-don't think it'd w-work too well in the end. It'd be t-too embarrassing anyways."

"Perhaps they would be more inclined to listen because Lyrica is a pop idol?" said Cave.

"Sounds like a double-edged sword to me," IF added.

"I think it'd be a great idea! She'd get to play with the kiddies all day," said Compa.

"Compa, you may be missing the point of why she's there in the first place," Nepgear said with an earnest smile.

I questioned how the school would've took to me lugging Grindrix around so casually, but I didn't think anybody was inside anyways. Walking through the school's courtyard, I noticed a small green backpack that was left on one of the benches. The others walked right past it, but my curiosity was piqued. Once the others were a little farther away, I quickly approached the backpack and opened it up, hit instantly with a pungent odor that could make even iron bellies quake. The smell was almost toxic, and when I curiously looked inside to see what could possibly be causing that stench, I was shocked at what was inside.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" asked a suddenly appearing Aksys.

Before I could tell her to back away from the backpack, she was already plucking out its disgusting, rotten contents.

"Cool! A severed head!" Aksys shouted to the skies.

I quickly covered her mouth and harshly whispered, "Shut up!"

By the time I had said that, everyone was already back and gathered around, some disgusted, some worried, some both.

"Don't just stand there and hold it in plain daylight!" IF scolded, prying the head from Aksys and shoving it deep inside the backpack.

While Aksys wore a look of disappointment, I asked hesitantly, "So..uh..should we report this to the police or give it to a lab to examine or something?"

"Perhaps it would be best to give it to forensics?" asked Cave.

Raising a brow, Chika asked, "We have a forensics lab?"

"Uh, shouldn't you of all people know that?" asked IF.

"I think we should just act like we didn't see this one, we've got other things that need tending to," I stated.

Compa was quick to scold me, saying firmly, "Cody, a murder happened here! You can't just pretend it didn't happen!"

"I-I agree, we probably should at least alert someone about this," said Lyrica.

IF sighed and said, "Alright, just one quick call to get someone out here to check this out. Then it's back to work."

Chika made a quick call, letting the newly reformed Leanbox Military oversee the problem. I didn't like the idea of just leaving murder evidence lay around, but, at the same time, there were other things to be taken care of. A few blocks down, at the workshop, was a large pile of steel sheets stacked neatly outside. We figured that those were the materials needed. After all, the little workers didn't say a word about what was needed. They never say anything, leading me to believe they had been drop-kicked a few too many times.

"Now, if you're fairly certain you cannot lift these on your own, please do not try. You'll break your bones if you try to lift these!" Compa advised, standing off to the side with Chika and Lyrica.

"If you can't lift them, and you know you can't lift them, why did you come in the first place?" asked IF.

"Moral support!" Compa instinctively shot back. "You can do it!"

The sheets weren't too heavy, they were just unwieldy. They were thin enough to be partially floppy, making them bounce to our steps while we carried them. It didn't bother me too much, but Nepgear and Aksys both struggled to keep their sheets under control. The both of them turned into human bumper cars just trying to get down the sidewalk, some of the scarce residents quickly fleeing to the other side of the street.

While walking down the street, something was bothering me. It wasn't the head we found earlier. Two police officers, one by the name of Dunn and the other Phelps, were already standing next to the bench, getting the scene ready for examination. The grisly scene was already under wraps, but that wasn't what was on my mind. Something else had a strange fear in my heart. It led me to ask the nearby Cave, "Hey, uh, do you happen to feel any sense of...I dunno...dread?"

"I feel it as well. I believe it best to keep our eyes open and our guard up," replied Cave.

A nearby Lyrica happened to hear our hushed conversation, approaching and asking me directly, "What's wrong?"

"It feels like something evil is watching. Like, some dark presence is watching me," I repeated.

Lyrica's face turned sour, forming a frown with her disheartened expression. "I can't say I've felt the same, sorry. Maybe you're both just stressed out?"

I couldn't dismiss that theory. Still, it was an unnatural feeling to say the least. It wasn't any normal evil either.

"Now that it comes to mind, I've noticed that ne'ry a fan has approached you for autographs as of late," Cave said, her voice aimed at Lyrica.

"I've noticed that as well," added an approaching Nepgear, "I'd think that a lot more people would be wanting to see you and get autographs."

"I think her new bouncer has something to do with that," said IF, turning her head to face me.

Innocently, with an eyebrow raised, I asked sharply, "You mean _me_?"

"Hate to be blunt, but if your stature were any more imposing, I'd mistake you for one of Cave's relatives. Not to mention how stiff you are," Chika stated.

I couldn't tell if that was an insult or not.

"It doesn't help that you have the largest, and sharpest, weapon out of all of us," IF continued.

"Okay, I get the point," I said, rolling my eyes. Looking over to Lyrica for a brief moment, I said quietly, "I-I'm sorry if I'm chasing away your fans. Totally unintentional, I promise."

"N-No, no! Y-Y-You're fine! In fact, I kinda like being able to walk around without anyone approaching me. It's kinda nice."

I was relieved to hear that, but I'd figure that if the fans didn't come to get autographs, they'd be around to question me and my connection to Lyrica. I didn't trust groupies very much, fans can get a bit unruly if they aren't put in place.

Aksys come trotting in with an uneasy smile, interrupting our conversation with her inability to hold her sheet of metal straight. She looked like something out of a very old cartoon, waltzing a broken walk down the sidewalk ahead of the rest of us.

"Geez, do I need to carry your sheet? Walk straight, or at least out of our way," IF said to Aksys.

"She is quite the child at heart," Chika remarked.

Compa, with a friendly smile, said, "It's one of her charming points."

With that subtle break in the conversation, I turned to the heavily sweating Nepgear and asked, "Hey, did you ever get the drones back to transforming again?"

"Yes, I did! All I had to do was repair some of the internal servos and replace a part of the motherboard," replied Nepgear.

She lost me at 'repair', but she didn't stop there. I let her go on about how she got them fixed up, acknowledging what I could. I knew better than to arouse the mech-head inside her, but as her 'brother', it only felt right to listen to her. We weren't far from the Basilicom at that point, just in time for the sun to set. I still couldn't shake the feeling that something was staring a hole through me, but I didn't let it get to me any longer. I played it off as my imagination, later sitting with the others in what was once Lady Vert's room. We still had to wait a little longer for the little people to finish the last touches on the Basilicom meeting room. Luckily, we guessed right in bringing them steel. Even luckier, Monty fixed the A/C once and for all, so we weren't boiling in our own skin. While I sat on the couch, Compa gave me a much-needed shoulder massage. Judging from how glorious it felt, I'd say my body really was as stiff as the others had said.

"I'll never understand how, but you are _really _good at this massaging stuff," I remarked, shrivelling up more and more the more Compa worked with my aching shoulders.

"Aww, it's nothing. I'm used to it, seeing how often I give Iffy massages."

IF's face started to turn a little red, but I was going to spare her the commentary. It was just too strange to see her embarrassed for whatever reason. While Compa continued doing that, Nepgear looked around at some of the games Lady Vert had. Turning to Chika, Nepgear asked, "Have you gotten any more of...'those'?"

Wearing a look of confusion, Chika took a moment to understand what Nepgear was implying. When the lightbulb finally went off in Chika's heat-fried brain, she said, "I'm happy to inform you that we do have more. I've been waiting for my dearest sister, Vert, to come back and play them, but I think I can make an exception for one or two."

Nepgear's eyes lit up like fireworks and the smile she wore could cure diseases. Quickly moving to a back room connected to Vert's bedroom, Nepgear said briefly, "I'll be out here in a few, promise!"

Chika followed her in, closing the door behind her. At the last second, Chika quickly flung the door open, and, while wearing a fierce expression and pointing a straight finger at us, said firmly, "Break anything belonging to my dearest Vert and you'll be dead by morning."

Once Chika shut the door and locked it, Aksys remarked a little too loudly, "She sure is mouthy."

"She still frightens me," said Lyrica.

"I think I'm more frightened by whatever her and Nepgear are collaborating on," I remarked, tension resuming control over my shoulders.

"I doubt it's what you're thinking. Nepgear's too innocent for anything like that," IF reassured with a subtle shrug.

She had a point. Nepgear would never get into anything like lewd visual novels or perverted anime. Still, I tensed up a little thinking about that.

"Relax Cody, you're getting too tense," said Compa. "I'm thinking you need to quit carrying your axe on your shoulder like you do."

"B-But that adds to his coolness factor!" said Aksys. "No deal!"

"I can't argue with her, it's what makes me a bit more intimidating. Guess I'll just have to request more shoulder rubs, huh?" I jested with an easy smile.

"Uh-uh! Compa's mine, you go through me first!" IF quickly replied. That field of red encompassed her face as she said repeatedly, "Forget I said that! I did not say that!"

"Helloooo blackmail!" I said with a wicked smile.

She quickly pointed a stern finger, unable to lose her blushing face, saying with a strong voice, "I _will_ poison your next meal!"

"You sure like to pass out death threats. I wonder why that is?"

Cave, being the last person I'd expect to bring up the subject, suggested, "Maybe she's struggling to speak her true feelings?"

"I smell jealousy!" Aksys bluntly added.

"Now, now, everyone. Don't tease Iffy too much," finished Compa, ending my shoulder rub on a gentle laugh and an easy smile.

In about an hour, the two girls finally came out, both grinning widely. Seeing that nobody else was going to ask, I popped the question, "So what exactly were you two doing in there?"

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's nothing," Nepgear dismissed innocently.

I gave a chuckle and asked jokingly, "Are you secretly a 4 Goddesses Online addict?"

"No, Vert's subscription to that auto-expired a long time ago. I don't renew it unless I have her permission," said Chika.

"That's a shame, I missed playing with her," I said.

"You played with Vert too?" asked Lyrica.

"Played with her? I was the one that beat her many years ago," I replied.

The whole room grew silent as everyone gazed at me. The first thing said was by Nepgear, uttering, "You actually beat Vert?"

"You...beat my dearest Vert?" Chika reiterated with a much darker aura. Her eyes pierced my soul with needles, and her shaky voice made me scoot back a little.

In defense, I said, "To be fair, it was close match."

"You beat my dearest Vert," Chika repeated, her aura growing even darker. She pointed a finger to the open doorframe, saying firmly, "Out! Now!"

I wasn't about to argue with her. That aura was as sinister as Mina's was when she got pissed off at the twins. I questioned what caused the Oracles to earn such dark berserk buttons. Quickly evacuating the room, I headed down the hall and to the door. Before leaving, I peeked in on the little workers, seeing them all cleaning up materials and the like. Glad to see that they were almost done, I went back to the front doors and pushed them open, hit with a gust of calm, hot air. The cold and hot meshed together, and as I passed outside, I could feel the heat pressing up against me again, almost suffocating, even in the dead of night.

Looking up to the moon, gazing in its fullest, I said to myself, "It isn't you staring at me, then who is?"

"Who're you talking to?" asked an approaching voice.

I jumped and quickly turned around to see Aksys standing behind me. Looking back up to the moon, I said, "Nobody. Why're you out here?"

"Come on, I wouldn't just leave you alone!" Aksys replied.

The sentiment was nice, but it didn't distract me from the issue at hand. Something still didn't feel right, and standing out in that warm night, I could pick it up more clearly than ever.

Her face twisted into dismay, looking up at me quietly and asked, "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you're fine. I just still don't feel too well."

"Is there anything I can do? Anything?" she eagerly asked.

I paused, hearing a very faint noise farther away. Hoping Aksys would keep quiet for the moment, I kept my ears perked up with a tight grip on Grindrix. It sounded like a faint growl-like scream. It was a nasty sound, and it didn't sound like some pip-squeak monster. In the far distance, I could see something white with red at the back. It got close enough to distinguish that it was some kind of overgrown, floating, grotesque eyeball.

"Aksys, go get the others. Now."

While Aksys went to retrieve the others, I examined the floating eye to see what it was going to do. It spawned little floating eyeballs, and judging from the screams in the distance, they weren't docile. The large eye made a habit of knocking down water towers, satellites, and billboards, making yet another large group of messes for us to clean up.

The others finally came out, all huddled around me. Chika asked, "What's going on?"

I pointed to the giant eyeball, saying, "We've got invaders."

"Is that...an eyeball?" asked IF.

"It is, and judging from the looks of it, it isn't happy to see us," I said.

"Let's save the puns for now," IF firmly replied, "how are we going to get up there to attack it?"

"Maybe pick a group of buildings to attack it from and get on top?" asked Lyrica.

IF shook her head and said, "No, it'll move by the time we get near."

Aksys, standing next to the drones, asked, "Why not attack with these? They have weapons."

"The weapons aren't online right now, I didn't have time to get that fixed," said Nepgear.

"We need to decide on something quick, that thing's making a mess!" Chika quickly blurted out.

The eye was turned enough that it started to escape our sight behind large skyscrapers, the darkness of the city clouding it from attackers.

I summoned Shredrix and took aim quickly, Chika quickly objecting and forcing the gun down, saying, "Don't draw its attention here! It'll crush the Basilicom!"

"Do you have any better ideas?" I asked sharply. It was then that I had an idea, one involving the drones. "Nepgear, transform the drones and keep them grounded for a moment."

Hesitantly, Nepgear got out her N-Gear and forced the drones into their bomber-like forms. Just as I had anticipated, it was just big enough to use as a makeshift hoverboard. I climbed aboard it, shakily crouched on it with one hand holding onto the drone and the other on Grindrix. "Pick a board people, we're going for a ride!"

"Wait, can Nepgear even control more than one drone at a time?" asked IF.

"I can ping the monster so the drones will follow it, but I'll need to get a clear shot in order to tag it," said Nepgear. In a burst of light, she used her HDD to gain flight with us.

"There's only four others, so the rest of you will stay behind, help the citizens if you can," I stated. Cave, IF, Lyrica, and Aksys all boarded the still-functional drones. Nepgear took off ahead of us to tag the monster with her N-Gear, floating high into the sea of darkened steel. She became just a blip on the mini-map by the time she got her target. The drones were quick enough to make me tighten my grip, shouting to the others, "Hold on and don't let go!"

IF quickly shot back, "Don't need to tell us!"

Closing in quickly, the eye turned around just to spew its little minions at us. The little eyeballs were just as creepy as the large one, and they were simple kills. They weren't sent to injure us however, instead aiming to knock us off our mounts. I couldn't keep shooting them with Shredrix, the recoil was too much for one arm. I could feel bruises forming already, so I switched back to Grindrix.

Nepgear was just fine approaching the beast, but being the commander of the N-Gear made her unable to assist in the fight. The fast approaching Aksys shouted to her, "Let me use it! Go fight with the others!"

"Are you sure? It's simple enough, but please don't drop it," Nepgear replied, gently tossing her N-Gear with an almost shaky hesitation.

The tips of Aksys' fingers pushed the N-Gear away, but she caught it with her other hand, saving it from a dark demise. "Okay, so just point and press the bottom button? Eh, should work..."

We had cut through the swarm of eyeballs and kept the drones circling around the big eye. I was close enough to chop at it with Grindrix, taking pot shots while my drone swooped in and out of range. Cave and Nepgear tag-teamed using a mixture of swordplay and bullet hell to pound on it, while Lyrica stunned it with flashes of lightning summoned from her guitar. I had it aggro'd, so the others weren't in any danger, though I questioned Aksys piloting our only method of staying afloat. The eye's speed picked up and it started trying to ram me off the drone. We were high enough that surviving the fall would be a fifty-fifty chance, but we couldn't lead the thing any closer to the city.

Aimed at me and only a few feet, the eye shed its pupil to reveal a drooling maw of sharpened teeth. It no longer cared about knocking me off, it was just going to outright devour me. A quick burst of speed from it made my own eyes widen. I uttered my curses and jumped as high as I could, leaping right on top of the eye. The slick, slimy surface of the eye made me lose balance and fall down, sliding quickly down the back.

"Nepgear, catch Code!" Cave shouted.

With my free hand flailing around, I felt something rough and almost sand-papery and quickly tightened my grip on it. It was one of the disgusting tendrils, but it kept me from falling. A loud shriek caught my attention, but since it come from in front of the eye, I couldn't see anything.

"Was that Aksys?" asked Lyrica.

The speeding eye was using all of its strength and speed to catch something, leaving Nepgear and the others in the dust. Shoving Grindrix deep into the monster, I used her to help me climb up onto the top of the beast. Aboard the beastly, flying mount, towers of steel flew past us, the warm breeze turning into a heated gale. The force wasn't near as bad as the train, but I still couldn't stand atop it. I had to crawl using Grindrix for support, efficiently coating myself in the disgusting slime.

Looking down, I could see Aksys, forcing open the maw with her hands and feet while precariously hanging just out the depths of the mutant eyeball. "I'm totally taking pictures of this!" Aksys cheered.

The more disturbing phrase I heard after that was from Lyrica of all people. Barely keeping up with the speeding eyeball, Lyrica shouted, "I'm going to stun it with lightning!"

"No wait! Don-"

She played a quick guitar chord that struck both the eyeball and myself with a bolt of powerful lightning. I could safely say she was battle-ready, much to my paralyzed dismay. The eye slowed to a full halt, throwing my disabled body forward. I could only look forward as the white surface of the eye turned into a gaze down the darkened alleyways far below. The descent stopped in a flash as something grabbed my foot.

"You're lucky I'm stronger than I look!" Aksys shouted down towards me, struggling to hold onto me, the N-Gear, and the maw she was inches from being eaten by. Releasing her grip on the N-Gear for one moment, Aksys shouted, "Heletic Nova!"

The feeling in my body wasn't needed to know that the beast had enough and was starting its rapid descent into the well-lit streets of Leanbox. Aksys, having let go by accident, was free-falling with her hand still gripped tightly around my leg. The N-Gear fell with us, Aksys fumbling with it and ultimately dropping it.

"Gotcha!" IF shouted, catching both Aksys and myself before we became meat paste on the sidewalk. IF was the only one quick enough to get both of us, but the sheer weight was driving her drone to the ground. Gripping it frantically for desperation, IF shouted, "Someone wanna come help?!"

Lyrica and Cave quickly returned to help us aboard the scarce room they had on their drones. Lyrica was quick to give me some Paralax, restoring the feeling in my body. Nepgear, on the other hand, quickly fled to her N-Gear, saving it mere inches from the pavement. Bringing it back up, she said, "Goodness, that was close. Wouldn't want to have to buy another one of these."

"Let's get to the body to make sure that thing is dead," said IF.

She led the pack, bringing us right to the bloody chunks that was once a horribly mutated eyeball. Touching down with Nepgear at command of the drones, Aksys walked up to the chunks and said, "Bet he didn't see that one coming."

"Seriously?" sighed IF.

I started to grin and replied, "Eye see what you did there."

"Please stop. Please, they're simply too bad," Nepgear said, hanging her head.

IF took the moment to rummage through the squishy bits, the mere sound enough to make the curious locals gag. She pulled out a single red potion, sighing to herself. "Seriously, a single potion? That's it? We had much better luck in the last adventure!"

"RNG's a real bitch, ain't it?" I added.

"Fourth wall breakage aside, at least that's a crisis averted," said Nepgear.

"Plus we netted some XP!" exclaimed Aksys.

"We should probably get back to the others now. The mess will probably vanish to the Gamindustry Graveyard soon enough," said IF.

Heading back to the Basilicom, the others said they were at ease, not feeling any kind of dark gaze. I couldn't say the same though. The worst of it was over, but I had a dark feeling resting in me. Something still wasn't quite right, but I couldn't let it bother me. Holding onto Grindrix, I looked into the blade as it reflected a somber moon. I sighed at the sight of nothing. The things once guiding me were gone, leaving me to stare at my own self in that moonlit steel.

"Code?" asked Lyrica.

I shook myself back into focus, hoisting Grindrix over my shoulder. "What is it?"

"I'm...uh...r-really sorry a-about zapping you like that. I really didn't-"

Interrupting her, I said with an easy smile, "Don't worry about it. I've been through worse."

"I'm still really sorry. A-Are you sure you're okay? I can have Compa look at you."

Still smiling, I gave her a pat on the head. She blushed just as always, still a bit too embarrassed for something so playful. The dissipating crowd almost looked in confusion at the sight. "I'm fine. Don't worry so much."

"It's a good thing Aksys caught you," said IF.

"That was a really good catch," said Nepgear, looking at the spacey Aksys.

"Just doing that thing I do!" Aksys replied happily.

I flashed a soft smirk to them, my eyes quickly going back to staring at the moon.

At the Basilicom, greeted by the steady whir of the A/C, and the smell of pasta that Monty was eating at the meeting room table, we lounged about, assorted around the meeting room's expansive table that was brought up from the storage below. The room was much different from the other Basilicoms, much simpler in design. Four black banners with green trim clashed with the bright white of the walls that could almost light the room on their own. Four strings of green neon glowed brightly and came up to the expansive ceiling light in an X fashion.

And at the silvery tables, clad in a black and green tablecloth, everyone gathered around, waiting for Compa to finish up cooking dinner. Nepgear and I both offered to help, but she insisted on cooking it herself for the night. I was a bit relieved to hear that, a lot of us were exhausted.

"For a dictator, at least Restrict kept up pretty well with the paperwork," said Chika, stamping a few papers and writing on others. I couldn't make heads or tails of what they were for, but the work looked pretty tedious.

Cave took a stack of finished papers, still stiff as ever as she walked back to the filing room.

"I still would like to know where she vanished to," said IF.

"We'll find out soon enough. Someone's bound to turn her in to the authorities," I said, retrieving my favorite cleaning cloth from my inventory. Sitting next to Nepgear, I asked her, "Nepgear, do you have any machine oil?"

Eagerly hearing the mechanist call, she retrieved a small container of motor oil, labeled with obscure names. The only thing that could be readily read was "High Quality" near the top. "I've got the best of the best right here."

"Much obliged." I grabbed the container and, with Grindrix resting in my lap, coated the top of the blade with a light layer of oil and started to clean the blade with my cloth.

"That seems odd to wipe the blade with motor oil," remarked a returning Cave, hands full of more paperwork. Chika gave a sigh at the sight of more than what she anticipated.

I raised a brow and asked, "I thought this was considered blade care 101. It's good practice to wipe a blade down with oil. It removes surface rust and can help protect the blade."

Aksys, sitting on the other side of me, removed her scythe from the holster and looked at it with surprise. Eagerly, she asked, "Can you help me wipe mine next?"

"Let me clean mine first," I replied. Eyeing Nepgear, I remarked, "You probably don't need to clean yours, seeing that the blade's made of plasma."

Nepgear, who was working with some kind of program on Lyrica's laptop, "I still have to grease the parts every now and again. Actually, I might just do that once I'm done with this-"

"Gear, don't make a mess on the table. Compa'll be done cooking in just a minute," said IF.

Nepgear nodded and went back to fiddling with software on Lyrica's computer.

What she was working with looked really strange, containing some hard scripted code and the image of a little chibi character. I kept myself working on lathering the blade with a thin layer of oil, asking Nepgear out of interest, "So what did Lyrica do this time?"

The sheepish Lyrica, watching Nepgear eagerly, said, "I..uh..downloaded these little characters that walk around on the screen and play with opened programs. It was really neat and cute, but when I left my computer alone for a couple of hours, they replicated so much that it made the computer stop working."

"It's no problem though. Easy fix," said Nepgear. She gave a soft chuckle and said, "I kinda want to see if I can put these on my N-Gear."

"I think I saw the application on my phone a while ago," said IF.

Upon hearing about phones, I suddenly remembered something. I asked the group as a whole, "Hey, weren't we going to get Aksys a cell phone?"

"I believe it would be best to save that for tomorrow," said Cave, retrieving another pile of papers and receiving another sigh from Chika, "Most of the cell phone shops are closed at this hour."

"That sounds like a plan. We can even get Uni, Rom, and Ram to go with us when they arrive tomorrow!" said Nepgear.

The meeting room doors opened with a soft creak, Compa peering her head inside. "Dinner's ready! Someone want to help me bring it in?"

Silently, Monty of all people offered to help. After the plates were passed out and Compa instructed everyone to keep electronics, paperwork, and, much to my dismay, blades. Aksys defied the last one to a T, choosing to feed herself by piercing her food with the tip of her scythe and bringing it up to her mouth. That she had so much dexterity as to literally feast from her blade was nothing short of pure strange.

Sitting across from the quiet Monty, I happened to notice he wearing a necklace with a gold medallion on it. Several runes were carved deep into it, and in the center was a slab of silver. I asked with a finger pointed at it, "Where did you find that?"

"Found it in with a selection of treasure in a temple by Trickstar," Monty replied, his voice a little louder than normal.

"Cool! Was it during a raid or a quest or something?" asked Aksys.

"There's a long story behind it-"

Chika rolled her eyes, quickly moaning, "Oh boy, here we go."

And for that next hour, the normally dead silent Monty filled the room with tales of forgotten cities and temples, adventuring with people we'd never even heard of. He described it almost like a mystery novel, detailing each wonder with a rather poetic description. One by one, while Monty slowly finished up his lengthy tale, people finished eating and headed off to sleep in one of the refurbished Basilicom guest rooms. Cave made sure there were plenty of places to sleep, bringing up the spare beds from storage. At the end of the story, when even Cave had gone to sleep, he fell victim to sleepiness, leaving just me and Chika still awake. Chika, starting to lose her energy, had one last batch of papers on the table ready to be filled out.

I approached her, Grindrix slung over my shoulder with my headphones hanging limp around my neck. Eyeballing the complex business requests, I questioned what I was about to say, but chose to speak up regardless. "Alright, so what needs done?"

"Is this an offer to help?" she asked.

"No, it's a request to sleep," I shot back sarcastically. "I am offering my services, what little they are in the field of paperwork."

Chika split the remainder of the stack in two, giving me one half. "I need these budgets checked over for accuracy, followed by totaling up yearly budgets afterwards," she instructed briefly.

Seeing the massive numbers of credits, I quickly retrieved my cell phone and started up the calculator app. I hoped that my brain could remain awake long to accurately add and subtract.

"The manual labor was one thing, but why are you offering to help with something like paperwork?"

"I thought you weren't the type to complain about free labor," I replied quickly, reserving time to letting my brain do math properly.

"I'm just curious."

Trying to do math and come up with meaningful answers for her questions was almost too much on its own. I yawned just processing my response. "If it helps the nation in any way possible, I'll do what I can and what I must. Anything to support a nation, whether its my own or not."

Gifting a mischievous smirk, she replied with a chuckle, "You sound so much like Nepgear when she first came here. I really could mistake you for her actual brother!"

"Is our semblance that uncanny?" I asked.

"It is. And before you continue to stereotype me as a freeloader, I do greatly appreciate the help."

"The feeling's mutual. I greatly appreciate your efforts toward Leanbox. Just keep Leanbox happy and make sure its people are at peace for as long as you can."

With that said, Chika stopped talking and focused exclusively on the paperwork. I couldn't tell if she was touchy on that subject or if she became determined. Either way, I hoped that Leanbox was in good hands.

({+|-^-|o})

A sudden force flattened my sleeping chest, disturbing me from my slumber. My stomach churned at the abrupt weight placed on it, and the pressure on my bruised shoulder didn't feel much better. I flung up to see who was trolling me during such a deep rest. A smiling Aksys, still sitting atop me, said with veal and vigor, "Wakey up! We're getting ready to go meet the other CPUs!"

"And that requires you leaping atop me like an eager child?"

"Yes!" she replied.

A passing IF looked inside with a bewildered expression. With snark on full blast, she asked, "Why are you two re-enacting some cliche anime episode?"

"I didn't exactly volunteer for this in case you didn't notice," I shot back. I looked back at Aksys and said, "Now, if you wouldn't mind getting off of me, I'll get ready to go."

Hopping off of the bed and myself, she waited right next to my bed for me to get up. She even handed me my axe and headphones, quickly trying to usher me out of the door. Once at the door, Nepgear appeared behind IF, uttering, "Aw, I was gonna wake him up."

Aksys stuck her tongue out at Nepgear, still ushering me out of the door with her hands on my shoulders and gently pushing.

"Slow down kiddo, I just got up," I said to Aksys, moving out of her reach and down the hallway. The meeting hall was just as lively as ever, with an excited Chika screaming at the top of her lungs, "It's missing! It's missing!"

I sighed and said, "And as per the usual, something spontaneous is happening."

"Can't have a normal morning anymore. That's against the Neptunia rules," IF chimed.

"What's wrong mouthy lady?" asked Aksys.

Chika immediately whipped around to us, eyes pointed at Aksys. "First of all, don't call me that again. I'm not mouthy!"

IF rolled her eyes, checking one of her phones as she asked, "Wanna get on with what the problem is?"

"My plaque is missing! The one declaring my unwavering loyalty to my dearest Vert! I can't find it anywhere!"

I raised a brow in confusion and worry. That she had a thing in the first place was strange. If I didn't know any better, I'd almost consider Chika some kind of stalker to Lady Green Heart.

"Where was the last place you saw it?" asked Nepgear.

"It should've been in storage rooms, but I couldn't find it anywhere amongst the memorabilia of Vert," said Chika.

Aksys gave a sour pout and asked, "Can't this wait until later?"

"Better to deal with it now, it's just a missing plaque after all," I said. The first place I could think of to look was behind furniture. If there was anything I learned living by myself, it was that missing items often flee inside, around, under, and even above furniture, often for no reason at all as well.

"This shouldn't take long," said Nepgear, following me to Vert's room where the plaque was suspected to be. IF and Aksys drearily took to the meeting chamber to look.

Getting a firm grip on the mahogany frame of the couch, I lifted up and swung the couch out of the way. Underneath the couch was a layer of greyish dust bunnies and bits of food that refused to dematerialize no matter how long they'd been left there. Which, judging from the pungent odor I smelt from that area, was apparently quite a while.

"Let's see, we've got a trio of receipts, a voucher for some strange game, and-" I stopped dead when I saw a plastic bottle with some faded writing on it. I picked it up and read it aloud, "Neptune Touch Massage Oil? I don't think I even wanna know."

Nepgear jokingly replied, "I don't think I'd touch that with your bare hands."

Just as she said that, I dropped it, covered it up with the couch, and went about my business. Just before I could get over to the entertainment center to look behind there, Nepgear chimed in, announcing that she had found it underneath a vanity set.

"Yup, had a feeling it was hiding under furniture. Let's give this to Chika so we can get going," I said, taking the plaque from her. It was a short walk to the meeting chamber, where, once I gave her the plaque, she leapt for joy, grasping it tightly.

She looked at me and said with a bright smile, "You've done a great service for the Oracle of this fair nation! I think I can even forgive you for besting my dearest Vert at her own game!"

"Uh, great? I think?" I replied.

"Anyways, let us get going. Don't want to keep the other CPUs waiting," said IF.

Little did she know, Aksys was already out the door. Following behind, Nepgear said, "She sure is anxious to see the other CPUs."

"You forget how much of an honor it is to meet someone of such position," I replied, "I can only hope that she maintains a proper attitude around them."

Watching the rambunctious girl prancing happily ahead of us suggested her unruly self dominating the conversation once we were caught up with the other CPUs. From what Nepgear said, they were waiting at an arcade for us.

IF's phone went off, playing a quick ringing tune. "Hello, IF speaking," said IF as she opened her phone. I could faintly hear something about the Guild from the person talking to her. "Alright, I can head there now," finished IF. She looked to us and said, "Well, duty calls."

"What's up?" asked Nepgear.

"Guild's trying to get itself up and running, so they want me in there to help."

"Aww, so you're leaving?" asked Aksys.

IF gave a nod of confirmation and started down a different path, saying as she left, "I'll be off, try not to disturb the locals with any crazy antics or anything."

"No guarantees," I replied quickly.

The arcade was a few blocks ahead on the platform we traversed. The residents of Leanbox, chatting amongst themselves, still wore relieved expressions and bright smiles, living life to the fullest in the shining city. Even approaching the arcade, I could hear the sounds of laughter and excited cries over the nostalgic tunes the machines played.

And just as Nepgear had said, Uni, Ram, and Rom were all gathered in the arcade around a racing game, the twins competing against each other with Uni watching. They were just finishing up with a race, the twins clambering out of the racing-style seat.

"That game looks super real! But it sure lacks a crap-ton of content. There's only ten cars!" said Ram loudly.

"Pretty...but boring..." said Rom.

Uni gave a quick scoff at the machine. "Looks like Lastations still holds the trophy for best racing sim. I knew Leanbox could only try to keep up."

Suddenly, Rom, who locked eyes with Nepgear, said loudly, "Finally! We were wondering when you'd show up."

"Uni, Ram, Rom, it's good to see you all again. I hope the trip here wasn't too problematic," said Nepgear.

"It was no problem for someone as strong as myself," Uni said with a playful smirk.

Cheerfully, Ram said, "Valve got one of her friends to give us a ride on a hot-air balloon!"

"The balloon...was really cool..." said Rom.

That struck me as odd for her to be so willing to send a hot-air balloon their way. Valve didn't look too happy with the twins, but I made it a mental note to thank her later for giving the two a safe trip.

Uni swapped glances from Nepgear to Aksys, scanning her quickly. "Who's she?"

"And why's she giving us the sparkly eyes?" asked Ram.

"Oh, I completely forgot," said Nepgear, "this is Aksys. She came to meet you three."

Aksys, right on cue, practically teleported in front of Uni, looking over her quickly before forcefully shaking her hand. "It's so nice to finally meet you! I've always wanted to meet the other CPUs! So, which one are you?"

Quickly withdrawing her hand, Uni said firmly with her chest a little puffed out, "I am CPU Black Heart, leader of Lastation. If you simply must, you may call me Uni."

Just as quickly as Aksys focused on Uni, she was right down with the twins, kneeled down to their height. "You two are CPUs too?! I didn't know there were two children running Lowee!"

"We're not just children!" Ram snapped back with a sassy tone, "We're the proud CPUs of the great and mighty Lowee!"

"We're...both White Heart technically...but just call me Rom...and her Ram..."

Nepgear seemed a little nervous seeing Aksys being so close to the others, while I was just a tad embarrassed. I didn't have it in me to say anything though.

Standing up and behind the twins, Aksys cheerily said, "I love children. I hope we can be best friends!"

"You're awful perky. I kinda like it," said Ram.

"She seems...nice..."

"We should go play some games together!" said Aksys.

I normally wouldn't have a problem with that, but there were more important matters to discuss. "There's business to be done first Aksys. We can make time later."

"I agree," said Nepgear, "if you'll please follow me, I'll lead you to the Basilicom."

Aksys was a bit disappointed, but tailed along without a complaint, eager to spend time with the other CPUs. She was keeping a little more distance from them, but she was still very chatty with them.

"So I take it the UAVs you mentioned are at the Basilicom?" asked Uni.

"Yes. Most of them appeared operational from last I tested them." Nepgear replied.

"Are they...cool robots?" asked Rom.

Aksys quickly said, in a voice loud enough to attract the attention of the scattered locals, "Yeah, they're awesome robots that can transform and shoot lasers!"

Ram and Rom both lit up with excitement, both smiling with eyes shining bright.

"Of course, they're nowhere near as cool as my big bro," said Aksys, going straight to clinging onto me again.

Pointing a finger at me, Ram asked, "You mean that dummy? He's nowhere near as cool as me or Rom!"

Adjusting my headphones hanging limply from my neck, I pretended not to hear that.

Uni, genuinely confused, asked, "You certainly can't be related, can you?"

"No, she just calls me that because Nepgear does," I replied.

"I was about to say, you two are...too different to be actual siblings," said Uni.

I couldn't tell whether to consider what she said as a compliment or an insult. Regardless, I said with a gaze placed on the twins, "It's not entirely out of the question. The twins there are polar opposites of each other, and they're actually related."

Before anyone could reply, we stopped before a crossing cat, its fur a jet black color. Nepgear was the first to say, "Guess we're going to take another way."

"Black cats...are bad luck..." said Rom.

"Really?" said Uni, "I always associated black cats with gravity."

Nepgear raised a brow, asking, "Where do you get that presumption?"

"I-It doesn't matter. We should just keep going. Not like some bad fate will befall us," Uni said.

I couldn't help but to chuckle. "Be careful tempting fate like that, Lady Black Heart."

Uni returned the chuckle, but ignored my foreboding phrase as she said, "Please, I appreciate the formality, but you can just call me Uni."

"Understood," I firmly replied.

"But you still have to call us Lady White Heart!" said Ram.

"I thought Rom just said that you both prefered your regular names."

"You're an exception!"

At the end of that conversation was the Basilicom, standing firmly on its steel platform. Shining rays of sun turned the grey steel white, bathed in sharp reflections casted by the absurd amounts of metal polish on its surface. And just like the kids they were, the twins quickly ran over to the UAVs, standing in robot form without budging an inch, looking like giant toys to the young ones.

"These are so cool! They're creepy-looking now, but we can repaint them into transforming robots of justice!" Ram exclaimed.

"The tech isn't bad, but it'll need some quality improvements to be useful in Lastation," said Uni.

"Anyways, shall we go in? I imagine you all are tired from the trip," said Nepgear.

"Is it really safe to just leave all these mechs out here on the Basilicom doorstep? What if someone takes them?" asked Uni.

She had a good point, but I replied to her, "What'd someone do with them anyways? It's not like anyone besides Nepgear actually knows what to do with them."

"Now who's tempting fate?"

With a grunt in response, I walked up the stairs and flung open the door, ignoring the slight pain in my shoulder. We were greeted by the others as we walked in, Chika and Cave openly inviting the other CPUs in. Once greetings and such were done, the nearby Compa asked, "How's your shoulder Cody?"

I rolled it around in the socket a little, getting a few pops from it. The bruising was a tad painful, and it was a bit stiff. "Could be better. Shredrix really did a number on me trying to fire it one-handed."

"It's amazing you're able to use that thing at all," said Uni, "my engineers had to cut out so much weight just to wield your weapon."

"Oh? How's Grindrix working for your troops?"

"I've gotta say, you have a good design. After making some modifications, the soldiers are really liking it. It's speeding up monster killing immensely."

"Wow, you managed to get a compliment from Uni? You must've done something pretty amazing to earn that," said Chika, snark on full blast.

"We could've made a design just as good if we took the time," Uni shot back. She looked at Grindrix for a moment, and then said, "You know, if you really wanted me to, I could modify your weapon in the same way. Maybe even add a few extras if you're lucky."

It was a kind sentiment, but something in me didn't feel right accepting favors from other goddesses. "Oh, no, I couldn't ask you to do that."

"You aren't asking. I'm offering, in case you didn't catch on."

What bothered me even more was the thought of not being near my weapon. I understood the circumstances, and in truth, cutting out some weight and adding some features would really help in the long run, but even being separated for an hour would take a toll on me. I didn't like for Grindrix to be out of my hands for too long.

"If you wouldn't mind, Uni, I'd like to help too," said Nepgear.

I felt a little more comfortable with her working on it as well. I could trust that she'd keep things together. Reluctantly, I said in the most polite way I could, "If you would kindly do that, I would appreciate it."

Uni approached, commanding me to give up my beloved axe. Taking her from her holster, her warm holster, I passed the cold, steel weapon to her. Once I let gravity move the axe to her hands, she became physically strained to keep it aloft with one hand. Choosing my strategy, she flung it over her shoulder and let it rest there.

Under her breath, Uni uttered, "I'll never get how you can carry this thing around as it is..."

I stifled a soft chuckle, going over to sit at the table with Lyrica.

"I wanna help too!" said Aksys.

"No, leave this to the professionals. Besides, you can keep the kids entertained," said Uni. She swapped her gaze to Chika and asked, "Is there a place where we can work on this in a room?"

"There's a guest room to the left and down the hall. Three doors down on the left," Chika replied.

The two left and I already grew a bit antsy. Lyrica, wearing a sheepish smile, said, "You're doing that thing again."

"What thing?" asked the nearby Ram.

"When he gets nervous, he'll tap his fingers in an arpeggio super quickly," Lyrica replied.

"Arp...edgy..yo?"

Lyrica was about to explain when I chimed in quickly, trying to put it simply, "An arpeggio is a broken chord. It's pretty much just playing three or more notes together in succession repeatedly."

A brief silence later, Ram looked at me with annoyed eyes. "That didn't make a lick of sense, you know?"

"Confusing..." said her sister.

"Cody, do you have an anxiety disorder?" asked Compa.

"I think it's a bit quick to assume that," Lyrica replied in my stead.

They both quickly rushed off to the other side of the table where Chika was looking over the Core again. It's shroud of darkness still pulsed faintly, but nobody dared try touch the thing.

"So is that the Core or whatever that thing is that came from the ground?" asked Ram, her hand reaching close to the orb.

Cave quickly moved Ram's hand aside, saying sharply, "I would advise you not touch that. That item is truly impure as of now."

"I don't get it, can't you just use a Sharicite and purify it like we do with most black things we see?"

Chika surprisingly had a valid response for a claim that otherwise would make a lot of sense. "Goddesses and the like are born from faith, meaning we can be affected by Sharicite, something made of faith. This thing predates the goddesses, meaning it isn't powered by faith. Sharicite wont do a thing to it. Hence why we're stumped right now as to what to do with it."

"Ugh. Lame," said Ram. "Come on Rom, we should see if there's some quests we can do!"

"Don't bother," I said to them, still rapidly tapping my fingers on the table, "the Guild's still resetting after getting the Oracle's okay to reform. IF's working with them now, but there wont be quests for a while."

"Even more lame! Now what do we do?!" Ram shouted. Her voice echoed pretty loudly in the spacious meeting chamber.

Chika, chiming in just in time, said, "Code, weren't you and the others going to get Aksys a cell phone?"

The idea had completely slipped my mind for a while. I didn't feel right considering leaving Nepgear and Uni behind, but they would more than likely be busy with Grindrix for a while.

"Now that I recall, don't you need a new cell phone as well Lyrica? I believe you lost the last one to the washing machine," Cave added.

Lyrica, on cue, blushed and stuttered a quiet response, "Y-yes...I d-do need a new cell phone..."

"You've always had bad luck with technology," I said to her, trying to keep an easing smile.

"I have...that's why I don't make music with my computer anymore..."

"Hey, hey, we gonna go or not?" asked Aksys.

I shrugged and said, "Sure. Some fresh air will probably do me good." Both Cave and Lyrica tagged along with us, the twins also coming to see what the technology was like in Leanbox. Chika stayed behind to look further into the Core for us, and Compa stayed behind to do chores in the Basilicom. While we walked, I asked Lyrica, "You still have that one dude work on your pop backdrops? What was his name...DJ Technika?"

"Yes, he's still helping me with anything I can't do with guitar. After he tried to teach me FM Synthesis, I gave up and let him work on it," Lyrica replied, fiddling with her headphones. "Not that I hate electronic music or anything...I'm just not good with it."

Seeing those headphones again, I gave a soft smile, clasped my hand around the headphones dangling from my neck and nodded to Lyrica. She smiled and removed her own headphones instinctively. The twins looked at us in confusion, and Cave gave a brief smile, while Aksys wore a look of jealousy that her and I were so close.

We exchanged headphones and began playing the first thing on our musical devices, which Lyrica's little SP3, while my headphones had the music installed within them. I had something along the lines of hard rock playing for Lyrica, but what I heard from her headphones was a quick techno song. It was some cheery music, high paced with vocals high enough to escape the human hearing range. "Damn, I didn't know you were such a little candy raver."

Lyrica, mimicking the chords and notes with her fingers as she listened, said, "This riff's really catchy. I might have to remember this for a future song."

"You two look so sappy together," commented Ram.

Aksys, letting that jealous side show again, quickly run up to me, tugging on my shirt and saying with a determined expression, "I wanna listen too!"

I smiled widely, unable to hide my mischievous plans. "Okay!"

I put the headphones on her and she shriveled up, eyes widened as she gripped the headphones. Practically throwing them back at me, she shouted, unable to tell how loud she was being, "How are you not _deaf_? That is waaaaayyyy too loud!"

Lyrica and I, in unison, said, "We're used to it."

Trading headphones again and back to normal, Lyrica and I could notice a few other jealous passersby. They looked at me like I was stealing the only girl left in the world, but I didn't care. It felt nice getting to spend time with my cousin again.

"They truly are two of a kind. For cousins, they are much alike," said Cave.

Ram examined both of us intently, coming to the blunt conclusion, "Yup, definitely related. I can totally see it."

"Family's...always close like that..."

We were at the Horizon Wireless store, opening the doors to find the scent of fresh plastic, paperwork, and apparently a wandering IF. She was comparing a grey, fancy-looking smartphone to her older, outdated phone that was still pretty impressive for phone.

"I don't suppose you're here to pay a massive phone bill again, are you?" I asked IF.

Hardly flinching, she turned around to see us standing directly in front of the doorway. "You'd just love for me to say 'yes', wouldn't you?"

"Thought you were supposed to be helping the Guild?"

"I still am," said IF, without a hint of hesitation, "Guild gets its communication lines through Horizon."

"Right, so that means you should be looking at new phones too?" I asked

"I'm passing time while the paperwork is being sorted through. Anyways, what brings you here?"

I brought Aksys forward, happily standing next to me with a bright smile, and asked, "Don't suppose you could help wild child here find a good cell phone?"

Aksys clasped both hands together, summoned the cutest eyes she could manage, and asked innocently, "Please?"

"I suppose I haven't got anything better to do. What'll it hurt?"

Aksys cheered and took right off for the phones set up in order along the wall, attached to security devices to keep thieves and rogues alike from walking off with them. Lyrica and Cave stuck with me, while the twins went off on their own, tinkering with every phone they could get their hands on.

I perused the phones that were aligned around a support pillar, their price ascending the further around the circle I went. I was too far out of the mobile scene to understand half of what anything meant though.

Cave, holding a pink and black cell phone with soundwave patterns, said, "Perhaps this would suit your taste Lyrica? I believe it to be cute enough."

"I'm not that cute though..."

Taking a look at the phone myself, I had to agree. "Cute or not, it _does_ fit you Lyrica."

"I guess it does," said Lyrica. She picked up the phone and tinkered with its slide-out keyboard. It wasn't too high-tech, but it was updated enough to have touchscreen and voice command. "Do I need internet for it?"

"It's not a smartphone, so no, you don't need it. You can have it though if you'd like," said one of the approaching store representatives. Just looking at him registered a fishy feeling for me.

"If you're here to upgrade, I strongly recommend that model with our new internet plans," said the representative.

Lyrica looked to me and asked, "Do you need to upgrade phones too? I can get you an upgrade too if you want."

"Nah," I replied, checking my worn-out flip phone for messages, "I just can't get into these new models. Too many features stripped away, too many things I don't need."

In the background, I could hear IF saying firmly to Aksys, "Hey, don't put too much pressure on it or it'll-"

By the time I had looked behind me, I could see Aksys holding a super-thin phone in her hand. It looked normal until I noticed the entire thing was bent. "Cool!" said Aksys. Seconds later, the phone caught fire, quickly earning the immediate attention of the representatives.

"They just don't make phones like they used to," I commented, watching the representatives hastily extinguish the fire. "I remember back in the day when it took nothing short of a missile to break a phone."

"Code, I don't think you're old enough to say phrases like that yet," said IF. "Come on Aksys, there's more over here. And try not to break any more of them."

Ram and Rom both went from looking at phones to looking for something else. They both seemed a bit frantic in their search. Instead of going to a representative, they went up to IF of all people, Ram asking, "Hey, do you know where the freakin' bathroom is around here?"

"I need...to go...really badly..." said Rom.

"Oh geez, you guys didn't take care of that before we left?" complained IF.

I figured as much. As per the usual for specialty stores, they, for some reason, refuse to keep bathrooms.

Aksys, hearing the whole thing, told IF, "Go ahead and help the shy girl. I can take them to a nearby store that has a bathroom."

IF gave a shrug and came over to us, having no qualms with letting Aksys take care of the kids.

"Thank you...Aksys..." said Rom, taking to the side of Aksys.

"Thanks!" said Ram.

Aksys gave a soft giggle and replied, "Anything for the great CPUs!"

It was about the time that Aksys left that IF started to work with Lyrica on finding a new phone. Though, upon eyeing my little old thing, she quickly asked, "Are you sure you don't want to upgrade? That thing looks barely new enough to function."

"It's fine. I prefer this older model. Much more reliable. This thing's been through as much abuse as I have and it's still going. Why get a new one when this thing works fine?"

"Suit yourself," said IF. She plucked a newer looking smartphone of black with silver linings, asking Lyrica, "I imagine you would get more use out of something like this. It can support some pretty extensive apps."

"I-I'm sorry, b-but I think I'll pass. I don't want anything too fancy. I just want a phone," said Lyrica, going back to the more simplistic phone Cave suggested.

Wearing a confused expression, IF said, "I don't get why you wouldn't want something better."

"We don't need it. Think about it IF, she doesn't leave the Basilicom that much anyways. Why would she want a powerful mobile device when she has her laptop that she rarely leaves?" I stated, using the exact logic that I knew was going through Lyrica's head. It was hard to explain, but it was also just another thing Lyrica and I had in common.

Cave, letting Lyrica look over the black and pink phone, said, "This is exactly how Lyrica thinks. She doesn't want anything more than what she needs."

"Y-You don't have to be so blunt about it," said Lyrica, "but yeah, that's kinda how I think of it. I guess you could say I'm old-fashioned?"

"Different needs for different people I guess," said IF.

Aksys walked the twins to an ice cream parlour just a few buildings down. They knew the way around well enough, but despite Ram's insisting that they can handle themselves, they both never strayed from Aksys. In the shop, Aksys eyed gelatins and ice cream lined up in a display case, browsing the eye candy without a credit to spend on them. She didn't have any money, living off the land back in Castlescape.

"We're done, weird girl!" said Ram.

"Thank you...for waiting." said Rom.

Ram approached Aksys, looking at the same treats she did. "You want some of these? We're a bit hungry ourselves."

"We...can buy for you..."

Aksys glowed brightly, asking, "Would you really?"

"Of course!" said Ram, her voice attracting the attention of the other people eating. With the spotlight on her, Ram continued, "We're more than willing to help someone in need."

"Ram...everyone's looking at us...maybe we shouldn't be so loud?" said Rom, shrinking from the gazing eyes.

"Of course they're looking at us, we're trying to show off!"

Unexpectedly, Aksys hugged the both of them tightly, thanking them several times over before placing her order for a small cup of butter pecan ice cream. The twins ordered neopolitan ice cream and picked a seat near the edge of the cafe.

"Thanks again! I think you two are definitely my favorite CPUs. I like you two a lot more than that spoiled Nepgear..." said Aksys, talking between bites of food.

"I know, right?" said Ram, "She's such a pain! I mean, I only like her a little bit, just a super-duper small amount!"

"I-I like...Miss Nepgear..." said Rom.

"Seriously, I don't get why she's always so clingy to my big brother!" Aksys complained, her voice rivaling Ram's in volume. The closer eaters chose to move away from the group. "He's far too awesome for someone like her."

"Can't say I agree with you on the big dummy, but I at least like him more than Nepgear," said Ram.

"Code...doesn't seem...like a bad person," Rom continued.

Again, Aksys grew bright, her cheeks dyed a tinge of pink as she thought of her so-called soldier boy. "He's just so cool, like a knight in shining armor. I don't get what he sees in that little-miss-perfect."

Ram giggled and teased Aksys, "It sounds you totally love him."

"Aksys...has a crush..."

Shying a little, Aksys said, "Maybe just a little..."

Donning playful smiles, Ram and Rom said together, "Aksys and Code sittin' in a tree. K-I-"

"Stop, stop!" Aksys said, returning their playful smiles with one of her own. "Okay, I'll admit it, I do really like him. But don't you dare tell him! Okay?!"

"We won't...but you gotta do something...for us," said Rom.

"Yeah, what's the info worth to you?"

"A chance to screw with Nepgear? I would love some help in bringing her down," Aksys said, forming a more sinister smile.

"I accept! And I have just the idea!" Ram quickly replied.

The three of them formed snickering smiles, mischievously enjoying ill ideas. "We can get the supplies here soon from the candy store," said Ram.

"First, we'd better return to the others. The grouchy one will probably not like us being out this long," said Aksys.

Ram crossed her arms, pouted, and said, "She's gonna be grouchy whether we return later or now."

"She's...always grumpy...like a cat..."

Aksys shrugged and said, "Good point. Let's go get the supplies."

Done eating and leaving the parlour, the bell attached to the door ringing behind them, the breath was knocked out of them by the quick addition of unbearable humidity. The twins quickly burst into sweat, Ram commenting loudly, "When did it get so freakin' hot?!"

"That's Leanbox this time of year apparently. Or something like that. I think," said Aksys, "maybe it'll be better to take the alleyways?"

The three of them looked into the shade of the shrouded alleyways, decorated with little else than dumpsters, trash, and the occasional gate of shining metal. Even in the darkness of the city's nether regions, the metals still shone brilliantly in what little light radiated through.

"I'm...a bit...scared to go in there..." said Rom, backing away from the opening.

Pulling her sister closer and walking behind Aksys's lead, Ram said, "I'm here silly, so there's no need to worry at all."

Feeling proud and stoic, Aksys took the lead with her almost-perpetual smile. The confinement of the narrow alleys made the humidity almost suffocating, but the heat wasn't nearly as bad in the shade. It wasn't too far forward, just a few blocks ahead to the nearest candy shop. "See, this is much better than-"

Aksys was interrupted by a pale-skinned girl with a lead pipe colliding with her. The pale girl fell to the ground, picking up her pipe and rubbing her head. "Watch where you're going idiots! Seriously, what's wrong with-"

The girl stopped dead when she saw the twins, standing up quickly when she realized who they were.

"It's the mean underling girl that kept pestering us before!" shouted Ram.

"You mean she hurt you two?" Aksys asked firmly, her cheery smile quickly fading.

"I-I-I didn't do any such thing!" Underling quickly replied, taking hesitant steps backward. Her eyes were wide open and a tiny sweat bead made its way down her grey cheek.

Aksys sharply turned to the children and asked, "Did she hurt you?"

"Yeah! She picked on us, beat on us, and even held poor Rom hostage!" said Ram.

Underling was turned around and only took a single step forward to run away before being stopped in her tracks by an enormous orb of darkness, crackling a fierce plasma and eating into the steel walls next to it. Underling turned back around and was immediately hoisted up by the collar by the sharp edge of Aksys' scythe.

Bringing the peon closer to her, but still hoisting her high in the air, Aksys growled, "You ever hurt these children again, and I will rip out your spine and feed it to you. Understand?!"

"Y-Y-Yeah! You'll never see my face again, promise!" Underling shouted, stuttering like a broken record.

Uttering not another word to Underling, Aksys, with all her strength and with Underling held up by the collar still, flung her overhead and smashed her into the ground. The sounds of bones crunching from the force made the twins wince and step further away. With a firm kick, Aksys shot Underling down the alleyway, her limp body hitting a dumpster with enough force to dent it.

Approaching the twins again, Aksys formed her usual smile and said to the twins with an innocent voice, "Come on you two. Let's get out of this alleyway, it smells like useless peon trash."

Hesitantly, Ram and Rom followed behind, Ram uttering to Rom quietly, "I think Mina has a competitor for 'Scariest when pissed off'."

"Aksys...has a very...dark aura..."

"I think Chika wanted milk. Or was it coffee creamer?" Compa thought aloud, comparing the two in her hands.

Monty, who tagged along to procure more pasta, uttered quietly, "Coffee creamer."

Compa complied, setting a gallon of coffee creamer in her basket. "Was there anything you needed?"

"Pasta. Rotini and Penne pasta specifically. Lyrica has also requested instant ramen."

Walking to the wheat and grains aisle, Compa thought to herself, "He sure doesn't say a whole lot, but at least he's not like Iffy and staring at a phone the whole while."

Picking up the pastas for Monty, or at least, what Compa assumed was right, Monty thanked her briefly with hardly a breath wasted.

Bearing her disarming smile, Compa said as they walked through the aisles in search of instant ramen, "You'll have to show me how to make some of those dishes sometime."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," said Monty in a firmer voice, "ancient Italian secret."

Compa cocked her head to the side slightly in confusion. "Italian? What's that?"

"Ah, nevermind. Slip of the tongue."

"You seem like you've gone a lot of places. Is that the place where you learned how to cook?"

Monty's voice raised and he replied with raised interest, "Actually, I learned how to cook from my Uncle Mario. He wasn't the best chef, but he taught me a lot of traditional dishes."

Compa halted the conversation, her eyes trained on a panicking youth ahead in the aisles. He looked around frantically, his short-cut hair of jet black bobbing with his every hasty movement. Interested, Compa approached him with Monty following, guard up and conversation mode off.

"533 7h!5 !5 3x4c71y why ! d0n7 5h0p..." sighed the boy in the far distance.

"Looking for something little boy?" asked Compa.

"wh0 4r3 y0u c411!n6-" the boy started in a high-pitched voice, jumping in fear and reeling back. The boy stared at Compa with a look of petrification before quickly cleaning up his act. "Yes, could you direct me to the instant ramen?"

Smiling, Compa said, "We're looking for it too. You can come with us, I'm sure it's nearby."

The boy followed quietly behind, Monty right behind with eyes trained on him. With blades at the ready, Monty made sure the boy knew he wasn't to try anything funny.

Once the instant ramen was in sight, the boy fled to it anxiously, ready to pluck the last red package of it off the shelf when Compa snagged it. "Looks like this is the last one."

"h3y g!mm3!" the boy shouted loudly, earning the attention of passersby.

"What do you say?" asked Compa.

Earning a downcast gaze, the boy said quietly with a soft tone, "Please?"

Compa readily handed it over to him, Monty a bit disappointed in her merciful decision. In his mind, he saw no reason to hand it over to the kid, but Compa thought otherwise.

"Thank you!" said the kid, dashing off quickly.

Once the kid was out of sight, Monty asked Compa, "Do you normally aid random NPCs so readily?"

"Of course! As a nurse, it's only natural to help out whenever I can, in or out of the hospital!" Compa cheerily replied. "Though, I feel like I know him from somewhere. His voice seems familiar, and that crude, barely readable language he spoke in seems recognizable..."

"I hope that wasn't an enemy," said Monty.

"Nah," Compa firmly replied, "the only enemies we see return are always wearing armor. We'd spot them from miles away!"

"I've got no idea, I don't know anything about these crazy devices," I told Lyrica, trying to fix her new phone after it spazzed out on her. She did something with it that locked it into some data recovery tool when she got it back from the representatives. IF wasn't around to explain, so I had to ask the representatives, who also didn't have any idea what to do. "I guess just let it run its course for now. It's not like you absolutely need it right now."

"I recommend waiting until IF returns," said Cave.

IF was called to the back a while ago to do some official business for the Guild. As we mentioned her name, she came back to us, just in time for the other missing three to return from a long, drawn-out bathroom break.

"There you three are. I was about to send a rescue team. What took you so long?"

Ram was the first to speak, and the loudest. "You should've seen it! That big bully, Underling, showed up again, but Aksys brought the smack-down on her big time!"

"Didn't...stand a chance..." Rom said.

"Oh, did you now?" said IF, "There's a name I haven't heard in a while. What the hell could she possibly want stirring up trouble again?"

Shrugging, Aksys said, "Don't know, don't care. Nobody screws with children. Or Code. Or Code as a child. Oooh, I really would like to see that!"

"Not happening space-case," I shot back to her, "now, how about you go tell IF here what phone you want before she blows a gasket?"

Aksys obediently parted from the twins to go with the impatient IF. While those two worked on phones, I asked Lyrica, "You know who this Underling person is?"

"She's some lowly peon that worked for ASIC back when they were a big threat. On her own, she shouldn't have much power left, but she caused a lot of problems for us before. I thought she was still jailed up though," said Lyrica, still eyeing her phone from time to time.

Cave replied with a sour tone, "She was. I imagine she was likely released when the power to the jail went out."

I welcomed a new challenger. Goddess knew the petty Faith Breakers weren't that much of a challenge. Looking to Ram, I asked, "Did Aksys put the bitch in her place?"

"Code, easy on the language around the kiddies," said Lyrica.

"Sure did! And she looked like she crawled out of the lowest depths of the netherworld in the process!" Ram cheered.

Looking at the innocent, little Aksys and imagining her looking anything near demonic. Then I recalled that extremely dark aura she generated that one time when I was with Nepgear. I could only assume they were talking about that, which meant that the children weren't to be injured around her. Eyes down at the children, I said to them both, "Let me know if that Underling person causes any more problems, I want a piece of her myself."

"Hmph. Aren't you just a knight in shining armor?" said Ram.

"I...trust Code..." said Rom.

I flashed my usual smirk and said, "Nobody hurts my friends. I make sure of that."

"Lookout, we have a badass," remarked IF nearby.

Aksys, upon spying a small pod phone in the corner of the store, shouted to IF like a small child, "This one! I want this one!"

Raising her hands in fake glee, IF remarked sarcastically, "Thank the goddesses, she finally picked one!"

Pouting, Aksys waited for IF to come over and look over the phone to make sure that it would work well for her. Much to her amazement, the representatives claimed that specific model to be borderline indestructable. It was super-simplified, but, according to the representative, Nepia phones were bricks. Unfortunately, we were subjected to even more waiting while IF registered Aksys' new phone under her plan...

Overkill struggled to quickly help Underling back to their base of operations at Headshot's house. "ur 5up3r 1ucky ! f0und u !n 7h47 4113y..."

"Yeah, yeah, shut up. I'm- ouch! Be careful!" Underling winced, Overkill pushing too hard on Underling's aching chest. "I wasn't prepared for that psycho bitch to throw me around like a rag doll is all."

"p5ych0 817ch?" asked Overkill. Underling paused the explanation while Overkill helped her inside the house and onto the couch.

Headshot's first reaction upon seeing her was to shout, "Whoa, what the hell happened to you?!"

"I was mauled by a pack of vicious chihuahuas, the hell does it look like?! Would you kindly get something to heal me up?"

While Headshot rushed for the bathroom to get the medical supplied, Overkill snickered and said, "u ju57 g07 701d br0"

Headshot didn't amuse the idiot any further, quickly going to heal Underling with a potion. "Now, kindly ignore the idiot and explain what happened."

It took a minute for the pain and stinging to subside from the potion. Underling winced a couple times before ultimately giving a hasty explanation, "I found the twin CPUs from Lowee in an alleyway. Was gonna bolt when this silver-haired chick made a black hole thing and trapped me in with them. She picked me up with this gnarly scythe and tossed me around like a cheap freakin' salad, then took off with me half dead."

Headshot and Overkill raised brows and swapped glances. "Silver-haired girl? Don't tell me that dumb twig goddess has another guard dog..."

"sur3 l00k5 7ha7 w4y..." replied Overkill.

"She's a doozy, I'll give her that. She looks weak, but she ain't gonna be an easy kill. Bitch is completely psychotic, but she's got power behind that scanty figure."

"10v31y...n07 0nly d0 w3 h4v3 7ha7 n008 w!7h 73h 4x3 70 d341 w!7h 8u7 w3 g07 s0m3 p5yc0 8!7ch 700?!"

Headshot raised a hand to his teammate, saying to him, "Just keep calm, we'll find ways around this little issue. Let us focus on healing our comrade first, then we'll take care of the bodyguards."

Secretly, Underling was just a tad thankful to the team for healing her, but she wasn't about to let them know that. Instead, she told them, "I think I know something that could help. I hear rumors about a tech museum nearby with a hologram projector. We'll need a pretty sly thief to nab it though, but we might be able to mislead the little bastards with that thing if we can get it."

"! 7h!nk ! kn0w 50m30n3 7h47 c0u1d h3lp..." said Overkill, reaching for his roughed-up cell phone painted in bloody colors.

"Do tell what idea you have in mind. I think I can work with this..."

Nepgear reached for her N-Gear once again, receiving a text from her brother. "Goodness. That's the fifth time now he's texted me asking about Grindrix."

"Seriously, it's just a weapon. He's pretty paranoid about that thing," said Uni.

"It's kinda a part of who he is, so I can understand," Nepgear replied. She held onto the shaft of Grindrix, where multiple mechanisms were exposed that comprised Shredrix. Lifting up on it with a mighty heave, she looked at where the axe heads met. In a split-second, the portion keeping the blades locked into the shaft came out from Nepgear's tinkering, both blades falling out of their well-crafted groove. The desperate look that quickly filled Nepgear's face couldn't help stop the sharp blades from falling to the floor.

Uni looked over to see what was going on, only hearing the loud clank of metal on the floor. She wore a similarly pained expression when she saw one of the blades with a large crack down the side. "Oh, he is _not_ gonna be happy about that."

Picking up the blade, chips of steel falling off the once-perfect blade, Nepgear's face was over-encumbered with grief. She stared in remorse at the large crack, uttering quietly, "G-Goodness...why did that happen?! No, Code's gonna be so mad at me..."

Joining her, Uni took a good look at the crack, concluding, "I'm sure you don't want to hear this, but it'll take quite a while to fix this. I don't even know if there's a blacksmith around here to get it fixed at. If anything, we could always use a different blade as a replacement."

"No," Nepgear said firmly, "this is Code's axe. He really treasures this, I won't let it go unfixed."

Uni smirked and said, "Just like you. While I don't know a whole lot about him, I guess I feel like I should help you fix it up. Got any ideas?"

"Just one. We're gonna need Chika's help though to get it to work. I sure hope this'll be quick enough..."

Heading back to the Basilicom, I helped Lyrica fill her new phone up with music, including some things from my song list. Compa and Monty, who had finished shopping, joined in with us on the way home. As usual, I ended up carrying the groceries. Ram and Rom still played with Aksys along the sidewalks, Compa trying her best to control them. IF was originally going to return to the Guild, but they called her off, stating that they could handle the rest. Cave smiled at the scenario, but kept vigilant as the day reached its peak, the sun glaring down from the very top of the sky. Most of the passersby would hesitantly ask Lyrica for an autograph, for, even without my axe, people were weary of me standing ominously next to her.

"It must be difficult having the populous clambering over itself to get to you. What's so special about you anyways?" asked Aksys.

"W-well I-I don't really know myself...people just really like to hear me sing. But I think my fans are warming up to my guests too..."

"Well, duh, of course they're warming up to Code! He's awesome!"

Lyrica looked up to me with a bright smile, as if giving my previous performance another thumbs-up.

"But," Aksys continued, her face growing dark. The aura around her could only be described as malicious at the least, "I think you should keep singing solo. Code's good enough without you."

Lyrica shrunk at the darkened phrase, her eyes turning to frantic pulses as she looked away from Aksys.

Firmly, I looked to Aksys and said with a more serious voice, "Aksys, play nice. Now."

That aura faded in an instant, and she returned to her normal cheery self, smiling with a quick response, "M'kay!"

As she fled forward to the twins, I looked to Lyrica and said quietly, out of Aksys' hearing range, "Don't let her get to you. She's harmless."

Lyrica looked up a little, her eyes back to normal.

I flashed a quick smile and said, "Though I do agree with one thing she said, you're plenty good on your own. I think I'll leave the singing to you."

"W-well I think you're more than welcome on stage. You're just as good as me, if not a little better."

Shocked, I replied with a very neutral tone, "No, no, no, you're much better than me, always have been. You're the one who taught me how to sing in the first place."

"You're my relative though, so I'm sure you're just as good of a singer."

"I simply will not acknowledge that. You are the better singer out of both of us."

Cave let out a pretty loud giggle, one that immediately grabbed my attention. "It's rare to see someone so complimentary to Lyrica like this. I recall us squabbling before in a similar manner to this."

Exchanging smiles, Lyrica and I found ourselves bonding more and more. To say it was warming to me would be an understatement. To finally bond so much with my cousin was a blessing, and it did a lot to brighten my day.

"Ram, Rom, get back here! You'll get hit if you play in the street like that!" Compa shouted to the angsty twins. Monty was on the move to get them, rushing to them with a light step.

They both recklessly danced in the crosswalk, playing tag without any attention given to the moving traffic. Going faster than needed, a truck almost slammed into the two, had it not been for Aksys quickly stepping in before Monty could get there. And by 'quickly', she moved faster than I could even see. I was bewildered by the sudden surge of speed, but ultimately glad she saved the kids.

Once they were back on the sidewalk, IF eyed them sternly, saying like a worried older sister would say to their siblings, "You two really need to quit playing in traffic. In case you don't know this, cars don't usually stop for bystanders. Understand?"

"Hey Rom, look at that poster over there!" Ram excitedly shouted, running off while pulling on her sister's hand.

IF sighed and uttered, "Or, you know, just ignore the hell out of me. Like usual."

"They're just kids Iffy. I'm sure they listened to you," said Compa.

"Kids or not, they need leashes," Monty replied.

Curious, I walked over to see what the kids were so excited about.

"Look Rom, they're having another cosplay convention!" said Ram.

"And...there's a..competition too..."

"Well, there's your shares if you're looking for them. What better way to earn favor than dressing up like a fetish idol for a mass gathering of perverts?" IF remarked.

"Geez, are the conventions really that bad?" I asked.

"Have you seen our CPUs? They're floating fanservice!" replied IF.

She had a point unfortunately. I certainly tried to refrain from staring at such eye candy, but it was kind of hard not to what with it so abundantly flamboyant.

Ram tore down the poster and said to Rom, "We should totally enter it if we can find costumes!"

"We should...tell the others too..." Rom replied.

Pouting, Ram tapped Rom lightly on the head with the rolled up poster and said, "No, we can't have competition ruining our share gathering!"

"You do realize that if she doesn't say anything, we will, right?" said IF.

"I think it would be great publicity for Leanbox if all the other CPUs joined in on the action," said Cave.

While I could agree on the whole publicity thing, I had mixed vibes about the concept of a competition. Even if Leanbox seemed, thus far, relatively unaffected by the competitive edge while the nation was recovering, I worried that the introduction of CPU variables would spark some problems amongst the locals. "I guess we could see what happens."

"You guys gotta participate too!" Ram said to the rest of us.

"No," I flatly replied.

"No," IF also flatly replied.

"No," Monty finished the flat replies.

"Sounds like fun!" Compa cheered. Aksys happily agreed.

And as per the usual, Lyrica sheepishly uttered, "I-I-I don't think that I could do cosplay in front of all th-those p-people..."

"Nonsense, there would bound to be some outfit you would find pleasurable to go in," said Cave, "Not to mention that someone needs to go to represent Leanbox."

"Uh-uh. If anyone should represent Leanbox, I think you would be better suited," Lyrica shot back quickly.

Cave's firm appearance and grim shake of the head said more than enough. "I simply cannot imagine myself transitioning into something that the audience would find suitable. I doubt I have the figure for it, whereas you do."

"Here we go again," IF said under her breath.

Just before the Basilicom, a young boy only about eight in age approached our group, his hesitant eyes aimed at Lyrica. I knew exactly what was coming, so I stepped aside. The little kid approached, and, with a stutter, said, "H-hello. A-are you 5pb.?"

Completely focused, Lyrica replied, "Yes, I am."

"C-can I t-take a picture w-with you? Please?"

The rest of the group had already head inside save for Cave. She stood next to me, out of the way so the kid could take the picture. The child pulled out a smartphone he was likely still too young to know how to use and booted up a camera application. Turning around to face me, the child walked towards me as I expected to be the picture taker. He asked with a stutter like he was freezing, "Um, a-a-are you Code?"

I gave him a subtle nod of confirmation.

"W-would you mind being in th-the picture too?"

My eyes widened in disbelief, but I ultimately shrugged and told him, "Sure, I don't mind."

And then he went to Cave and asked her to take the picture. I was pretty thankful that I didn't get stuck taking the picture. Those fancy smartphones eluded me entirely. Lyrica and I had to kneel down to get to the boy's height, the boy quickly joining us right in the middle. Lyrica, kneeling near the boy, smiled brightly, flashing the peace sign in a cutesy manner. Mirroring her, instead of giving the cutesy peace sign, I flashed the devil horns, wearing the best smile I could manage. Cave gave a countdown before taking a couple pictures, passing the phone off to the boy.

Still smiling, he thanked us kindly before taking off. As he ran off, Lyrica asked, "Feels good, doesn't it?"

"Guess it kinda does," I replied, leading the rest of us back into the Basilicom, eager to check up on Grindrix. Luckily, the first thing I saw was Uni and Nepgear working together on polishing the blade. My pace hastened and I was quick to head over and ask bluntly, "Is she alright? Everything okay?"

"It's perfectly fine, as expected," Uni said confidently, setting aside the wet rag she was using to polish the blade.

Nepgear, a little more fidgety, said with her eyes averted, "Well, we kinda had some complications..."

An arrow of fear penetrated my heart, anxiety forcing still my lungs and blood. "What happened? Tell me!"

"Calm down," Chika interrupted, "your blade is fine. We fixed any problems with it."

"That still doesn't answer my question," I shot back.

"See Gear, if you would've just kept quiet, he would've been none the wiser. This was your fault in the first place," Uni said with an accusing glare sent towards Nepgear.

"Sis, just tell me what happened," I firmly said.

Frantically, one phrase after another, Nepgear explained, growing more and more panicked the more she spoke, "I was moving the shaft of it up to look at it and the locks for the blade came off, and then it hit the ground really hard, and then the blade cracked really badly, and, goodness, I'm really really sorry!"

I picked up Grindrix, feeling a lot of weight already taken off of her, despite the extensive protrusions added to her shaft. Eyeing the blades, they reflected the light around us so brilliantly that it could blind. Checking both sides, they seemed entirely normal, if not abnormally radiant in energy. A strange aura was wafting around it, a particularly strong one. "I don't see any cracks. I assume you fixed it?"

Nepgear raised her head and quickly replied, "Yes! I handed it off to Chika and asked if I could use some of my shares to repair it."

"It wasn't just her shares though," Uni quickly interrupted, "Chika and I put our shares into it as well. Although, the idea itself was Nepgear's."

"You'd best be grateful, we put a lot of work into that thing of yours," said Chika.

I looked down at the sparkling blade with my widened eyes looking at the mirror reflection. Not only was the blade just as sharp as ever, but it felt like it was no longer made of simple steel. It felt like it was made of something holy, something celestial.

"I hope you aren't mad, I'm really sorry," said Nepgear.

A simple smirk on my face turned into a soft chuckle. I looked at the three of them and said, "I'm far from mad. If anything, I'm honored. Thank you all so much, I really appreciate this."

Admiring my blade, I proudly rested her down in my holster.

"Cody looks super happy," said Compa.

"It's not my style, but it looks like a fine blade nonetheless," added Monty.

"He sure is a sap," Ram added. Turning to face Nepgear and Uni, Ram held out the unfurled poster and said, "Hey, check this out."

"Cosplay competition? Oh, I remember this! Vert got us to participate in this a while ago," said Nepgear.

Uni shook her head and said, "No. Uh-uh. Not happening again."

"Come on, we can't do it without you there too. It'll be fun!" said Nepgear.

And still Uni was adamant about not going. "That's what you said the last time and I disliked every minute of it! It was embarassing..."

"It can't be that bad," said IF, "just look at it more as a way of gaining shares through competition."

Still couldn't quite agree to that viewpoint of competition, but I could see the competition as a good way for Nepgear to bond with the other CPUs.

Even Aksys went up to Uni, donning her sad, puppy-dog eyes and saying childishly, "Please? For us?"

"Oh fine! Whatever, I'll do it," Uni replied. Nepgear and the others cheered, Uni cutting them short to bring up an important point. "But if we're going to do this, we better get the costumes ready and quick. Fitting has to be done, measurements taken, and we need to make sure everything for the costumes are together and ready."

"Who all will be participating?" asked Cave.

All of the CPUs were in for the competition, while Compa and Aksys were going for fun. Cave reluctantly agreed to try it out after some persuading, and Lyrica was going to go but as herself. Monty, to get out of having to do a thing for the competition, took up Chika's role of filling out paperwork.

Nepgear approached me with that determined look on her face. I knew what was coming, and the answer would remain the same. She asked me, "Would you please join us in the competition?"

And just like that, Aksys joined in, using the same puppy-dog eyes as before, saying alongside her, "Please big bro?"

I shook my head and told the two of them firmly, "I'm not going to do something like that. I'd rather stay on the sidelines in case some weirdo tries something funny."

"I'm with Code on this, you'll be swimming in a sea of virgins without a life preserver out there if nobody takes up the role of bodyguard. I think I'll be with Code on the bodyguard status," said IF, "better safe than sorry after all. Monty, are you gonna help with at least guarding the others?"

"I'm the head of security for the convention center. Of course I'll be watching over everyone," he replied, eyes drawn to the small stack of paperwork.

Cave gave us all a soft nod and, before retreating to the depths of the Basilicom, said, "Then if it is settled, I shall procure some appropriate costumes for us all."

Just as I had anticipated, Aksys was pouting because I wouldn't join in. Nepgear was only disappointed for a brief moment before happily going back to talking with the other CPUs. Uni and Ram argued about who would win while Rom and Nepgear talked about what they thought the other would look good in.

"You do realize she's pouting because of you, right?" asked Chika, who complacently ignored doing paperwork at the moment. She seemed more enthralled by helping the others prepare than to tend to her CPU duties.

I shrugged and replied bluntly, "She'll be fine."

"She'll be over it in a minute, no doubt," IF added in.

Before we could even continue our conversation, Aksys was already over by the twins, talking with them and opening a bag of candy with them. Standing close enough, I could hear them trying to get Nepgear to try what was in the clear bag. They looked like normal gummi bears, but Ram had etched out the name and all with a marker, so I had no idea what brand they were.

"Are you sure?" Nepgear asked.

Ram's voice echoed as she loudly replied, "Just go ahead and take some before I change my mind!"

Without a hint of hesitation, Nepgear downed a handful of the colorful gummi bears. Her eyes widened a little, and, while reaching for another handful from the bag, uttered, "Wow, these are actually pretty good."

I was interested myself, but I averted my eyes, aimed to not care. IF wore a look of suspicion and Chika thought nothing of it, impatiently tapping her foot with her arms crossed, eyes aimed for where Cave would return.

Still tuned in to their conversation, I could hear Ram saying something about giving some to me. She quickly approached and practically threw the bears at me. A feeling deep in my gut told me that something was fishy about the things. Poison, radioactivity, acid, there was a list of things I still expected from the two. I inched over to Compa just to be safe and asked her, "Could you examine these for any kind of poison?"

Compa, hands to herself, replied, "Code, they're just gummi bears. I don't think you'll die eating them. And even if you do, it's my job to heal you right up!"

Finally submitting, I gave a shrug and downed a handful of the colorful bears. Much to my surprise, they were bursting with flavor and easy to chew. "Holy crap, these are actually pretty good!"

Walking over to the bag, I grabbed a larger handful, Ram oddly fine with my pilfering. None of the other girls took any of them though oddly enough. Aksys wore a genuinely concerned expression, almost bordering on guilty. In between bites, I asked her, "What's wrong?"

"Oh, n-nothing! Nothing at all big bro!" She hastily shot back, wearing a half-smile that suggested otherwise. I dismissed it and went back to munching on the gummi bears, Cave showing up shortly after. She held onto a large collection of costumes, some modest, some skimpy, and some just plain weird. Why Lady Green Heart had so many of the things was way beyond me.

"First thing to do is get measurements!" Chika cheered, grabbing a measuring tape. Grabbing two others, she handed one to IF and one to me, saying, "If you aren't gonna dress up, then you'll at least help the others. Got it?

IF rolled her eyes and replied, "Guess she does have a point. Come here Compa."

Chika went to the twins first and said, "Alright you two, I'll measure you both, just hold still while I do it."

I looked down at the measuring tape and then gazed at the gaggle of curvy, well-endowed girls, save for the twins. My brain was having a short-circuit just processing the thought, and I had a warm feeling going through me. Nepgear was about to walk towards me when Aksys bumped her out of the way and headed to me. Wearing a tint of red on her cheeks, she asked innocently, "Could you measure me first, big bro? Please be gentle."

"Don't say stuff like that, seriously..." I replied, my hand shaking as I pulled open the tape. Aksys raised her arms, eyes averted innocently, her blush growing thicker. My hands neared her, my face twisted, and I could feel nervousness of my own taking over. At my breaking point, I rolled the tape back up and accidentally thought aloud, "Nope! I can't do it! Nope, nope, nope!"

Chika was the first to give me a disappointed gaze, firmly complaining, "You big wuss! Seriously, you can't even take a girls' measurements. What kind of man are you?"

"It's one thing to pat or hug a girl, but touching breasts is something I just can't willingly do. I still have some dignity!" I returned.

"I'm with Chika on that. It's kinda sad really," Uni added in.

"For a series focused so heavily on fanservice, you sure are a buzzkill," IF remarked.

The more I heard the verbal retaliation, the more I legitimately felt bad.

"If you'd like, mine are a bit smaller," said Nepgear, standing next a heavily disappointed Aksys, "you could take my measurements instead."

"No, no, especially not a goddess!" I shot back.

"Just do it Code, it's not like you're fondling them. Besides, if the girls didn't trust you enough to let you take measurements, I'd imagine you wouldn't be in a party full of them," said IF.

Nepgear faced Aksys and asked, "Would you mind if I went ahead and took the measurements?"

And just as I had anticipated, she pouted and replied, "No, I want my big bro to do it."

I sighed a deep sigh, forcefully banished the anxiety that tried to resurface, and said, "Fine, let's just do it."

Aksys smiled brightly, holding her arms up high.

I pulled out the tape to a decent length, thinking aloud, "Why exactly are we doing this again? It's not like we can quickly retailor the costumes if the measurements don't fit the costume."

Still working with the twins, Chika replied, "We need to know which ones the girls will be able to wear."

"But if we wanted to test that, couldn't we just have them actually try on the costumes?"

"That would take hours to do! Do you realize how hard it is to get some of those on? Not to mention how many there are."

Taking her sweet time measuring Compa, IF added in crudely, "Code, don't question obligatory fanservice scenes."

"There's not even any fanservice to see! This is all text!" I shot back just as crudely.

I got her measurements and documented them for Chika, who would round up costumes as we went. After getting all the information I needed, I left the rest of the girls to IF and Chika, as my hands were shaking far too much to read the measurements anyway. That and I actually couldn't read measurements properly, resulting in Chika having to translate my hasty scribbles. Measuring inches and centimeters eluded me. Such things surely weren't in my class.

The CPUs looked like they already knew what costumes to pick out. I assumed as much, seeing their familiarity with the cosplay convention. However, Compa, Aksys, and Cave were different stories. And all the while the girls browsed the costumes Cave laid out for them, I couldn't help but notice I was getting a bit hot in the room. I wondered if the A/C quit working, but then I recalled my immunity to heat. Despite that, I was sweating a bit much for my liking.

Aksys picked up a strange bodice of a costume, pink and black in color with laces down both sides. It even had a little pink and white cape connected to a loose-fitting collar. For some reason, there were a bunch of brass colored rings connected to the collar and the wrist cuffs.

Noticing her selection, Cave told her, "I believe that costume is in a set with this one."

Cave held up another costume that was pink and white, designed as a tutu-like dress. The skirt was heavily frilled and arced upwards on the sides, while the bodice was trimmed at the bottom with a pink extension.

"We can both go as a matching set!" cheered Aksys.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry but I don't think I'd be able to wear something this cutesy. I apologize, but you'll need to find someone else."

Aksys, saddened, looked towards the CPUs, all of whom already had outfits ready. Turning to IF, she perked up only to be shot down brutally by IF. Hastily dashing over to Compa while holding the dress, Aksys asked simply, "Please?"

"Of course!" Compa said with a smile and a nod, taking the dress and looking at it. "It kinda looks like a dancer's dress, but it looks cute."

"I believe there are a set of elven ears and a long pink wig with twintails to go with it. We'll retrieve those later," said Cave.

Aksys was quick to take off, shouting happily as she vanished to another room, "I'm gonna try mine on!"

"Hey! We were waiting to do that, if you'd just hold up!" IF shouted to no avail.

Approaching behind us was Nepgear, her forehead coated in sweat. "Um, Chika? Could you maybe turn the A/C on a little higher please? I'm a little warm."

"Oh, sure. Cave, could you go do that?"

Cave complacently nodded and walked to the back of the room to fiddle with the thermostat.

"Ge-Ge, are you okay? You look really sweaty and kinda pale," asked Compa.

"Yeah Gear, what's going on?" IF added.

Nepgear gave a shrug and an uneasy smile as she wiped the sweat from her forehead again. "I guess the heat must be getting to me."

"No, it's not just you. I feel a bit warm myself," I said to her.

"Code!" shouted a distant Aksys.

No time to complain, I immediately rushed to the room I heard the shout from with my sweat sliding to the ground on the way. Grindrix was drawn from her sheath and I readied myself for battle. Aksys didn't seem like the type to just scream for help out of nowhere.

And of course, once I got to the room, there was no intruder or issue. Instead, there was Aksys, struggling to adorn her skimpy costume. She looked at me in frustration with her face contorted. "Could you please help me tie this? I can't remember how to tie a knot."

I couldn't tell what I was more surprised to hear. That she shouted bloody murder for help with her costume, or that she didn't know how to tie a knot. I rolled my eyes hard enough to blur my vision for a second. Kneeling down, I forced still my shaking hands as I gripped the string firmly.

"Tell me if it gets too tight," I said to her, pulling the lace a little tighter.

Aksys winced as I pulled them, so I gave it a little slack and then tied one side. When I stood up to go to the other side, I felt a deep rumbling from the depths of my bowels.

"Hehe, your stomach's making funny sounds," Aksys snickered.

Walking to the other side, my stomach did it again, followed by a tinge of cramping in my lower intestine. "Damn, something's playing hell with my stomach."

Repeating the same process, I made sure that the tie was secure before standing back up. Looking at her costume and its ridiculously short pink skirt, I kinda wished she would've picked something a little more modest. It was hard not to stare at the underboob showing from the strangely placed cutout that practically framed the sight. "You're lucky you're a member of this party. I sure as hell wouldn't do this for just anyone."

"And that's why you're my awesome big bro!" she cheered.

As sweet as it was for her to call me that, I kinda wished that phrase would remain between just me and Nepgear. Regardless, I still couldn't bring myself to tell her 'no'. "Come on, let's get back to the others."

Walking with the cheery girl in tow, my stomach started making more and more noise, some of the sounds sounding more like monsters than bodily functions. The cramping intensified and I could feel something shifting down there.

"Big bro, are you okay? You look really bad..."

"Yeah, just fine. Nothing problematic," I replied. Trying to hide it, by the time we were in the meeting chamber again, I went straight to Compa and asked, "Hey, do you happen to have some stomach medicine? My food chamber's on the fritz for some reason."

"Actually, you aren't the only one Cody," said Compa. She pointed a slender finger at Nepgear, who was already wretched over with Uni resting her hand on her back in comfort.

"What's wrong Nepgear? Something's wrong, I know it is, just tell me what," Uni told her.

Then it hit my bowels like brick of cement. My eyes widened and I knew just what was about to hit me if I didn't flee to the toilet that very second. Nepgear was second to that notion, her eyes widening as much as mine did before we both wailed in unison, "Bathroom!"

"Quit moving so much dammit, I can't hear them anymore!" Underling whispered loudly to the bumbling clanmates surrounding her. They were clad by the Basilicom's sparse shrubbery, making them work to conceal themselves in the midday sun that slowly descended.

"! h34rd 50m37h!n6 480u7 4 847hr00m..." Overkill said, his tiny head peering over the miniscule window he looked through into the Basilicom.

"Yeah I did too. Nevermind that though, what's important is that convention," said Headshot.

"I think they'll all be out, so I say we snag that Spark while they're gone, chu. Can't be that hard to break into their safe," Pirachu replied.

"Or, we could, you know, stir up some shit at the convention itself with a well-placed monster," said Underling.

Overkill donned a sinister slasher smile, adding loudly, "0r w3 c0uld d0 b07h!"

After the three of them bid him to keep quiet, Underling said, "I think that plan should work, but let's see if we can hear anything else before we scoot out of here."

"Just try not to get us caught, chu," Pirachu quipped.

Sneaking along the shady eclipse of the Basilicom's shadow, they slinked along the steel walls, homing in on a mysterious sound.

"4ny0n3 3153 h34r!n6 7h47?"

"Sounds like someone running a faucet," remarked Headshot.

Underling, being the front of the pack, turned sour when a foul stench hit her nose hard enough to singe nose hairs. "Holy shit, what is that freakin' stench?!" shouted Underling at full volume, quickly dashing away from the wall while gagging.

"I don't smell-oh, there it is. Yeah, that smells like A-grade sewer right there, chu," Pirachu stated.

"Yikes, that's freakin' pungent right there!"

"r37r347! r37r347!"

The last thing the Faith Breakers heard while running with their noses buried down their sweaty shirts was the sound of a toilet-bound, angered war god shouting to the deepest depths of the netherrealms, "I'm gonna kill those little bastards!"

* * *

><p>Well, that's the end of the chapter for now. Have no fear though, there's work being done on this series every chance I get. Hopefully another new chapter will find its way here soon, but 'til then, keep reading and keep gaming. See you on the next update!<p> 


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